Welcome To Baia
by ladierock
Summary: They say politics are a dirty game of lies and deceit. Falling in love with the politician's daughter was never my intention. Watch as she and I play a horrific and daring game. All Human. A Rose and Dimitri love story told from Dimitri's point of view. Read and Review Please.
1. Welcome

Things seemed to only grow worse with my family.

Bills were do, my sister Karolina had picked up two more shifts as a waitress that paid barely above minimum wage, Sonya was alone and pregnant and Victoria was thinking about dropping out of school to help my mother and grandmother with their small medical remedies business. Little Paul was even thinking about quitting first grade to find a job walking our dog Pepper and charging five dollars for anyone who wanted to see her do a trick.

Things weren't at their worst but they were pretty bad.

I was surprised I still managed to find work-building houses along the small town that was Baia.

I was equally surprised to find the odd mix of people moving to our small Russian town and that they paid me extra for small jobs to help with the upkeep around the houses.

Yes, the Belikov family's financial situation could've been much worse. Russia's economy had fallen a lot without a real political figure in power and politicians taking unofficial control over the cities and trying to bump each other off.

There were families sharing boarding houses and some begging on the streets but most had resorted to small crimes like robbing whatever tourist had suddenly decided to visit our lovely country or scheming to rip off new comers.

I was one of the lucky twenty four year olds with a job.

I have a big loving family, a roof over head, and food in our stomachs.

I was going to do my best to keep it that way. Despite the fact that most of these corrupt politician's paid my salary and for the supplies used to build homes, I was in now way going to get involved. I did my work and went home and strayed from whatever trouble the politicians and the criminals working under them were backing.

"Where are you off to so early, Dimka?" my mother asked sipping coffee.

I tugged my hair into a ponytail and pushed my sleeves up grabbing the long wooded boards leaning in the corner.

"Fix that hole on the roof. I'm tired of birds watching me while I sleep. I think they're building a nest up there or thinking of building one in my room. I spotted one eyeing my bed."

My mother laughed sipping her coffee.

"Well, be careful. Try to keep quiet if you see the new neighbors moving into the house you built beside ours. They called and said they might be arriving today and we don't want them to think we're loud Russians who make a lot of noise."

"We _are_ loud Russians who make a lot of noise but yeah, I'll try hammering quietly," I joked.

I was outside on the roof less than five minutes when a sleek black Chevy Tahoe pulled into the small driveway beside ours. A tall man with a thick dark beard got out of the drivers seat, a woman with bright red curls out of the passenger seat, and a girl pushed open the backseat door and slammed it shut rubbing her hands together.

"So _cold_," she exclaimed blowing on her hands for warmth.

"Don't exaggerate, Flower," the driver had said standing before the house. "It'll be a lot colder than this in the coming winter."

He rested an arm on the girl and the red head woman's shoulder and they stared at the house.

From what I remembered building it, it was an upscale house compared to our modest home next door and all of those around it. It had been requested that the house have three to four bedrooms, just as many bathrooms, an office, den, living room, dining room, and a large kitchen. The floors were hardwood and the house itself was made of a mixture of long paneled wood on the inside and a mixture of rock, cement and brick on the outside. I even added two fireplaces in two of the bedrooms and one in the den.

This had been one of my finer house built, a house I could only dream to move my family into or build for them one day.

In my daydreaming the small family had dispersed, the man and the woman headed inside to see their new home.

"Back the car into the driveway without hitting the house and start unloading, Flower," the man said to the longhaired girl who was still trying to warm her hands.

"Sure thing, Old Man. I'll be the man of the house and do what you should be doing instead of playing lovely dovey with mom," she muttered stomping to the back of the truck.

"What was that dear?" he asked from the threshold of the house.

"Nothing," she shouted back faking a smile and waving him inside.

I listened, since the street was pretty quiet being Sunday, as she started the car and backed it into the drive. There was the barely audible sound of the metal of the car hitting the garage and I chuckled to myself.

I heard the sound of her boots against the snow-covered driveway and the slam of the car door, a slur of profanities as she probably checked the damage of the rear of the car and the garage.

I heard the door of the house open and the man exclaim, "Driving lesson number one don't hit anything. Driving lesson number two don't hit a house. Driving lesson number three especially not the house you live in and driving lesson number for don't hit anything especially the house you live in with your father's car!"

I heard the girls scoff.

I continued to pull at the nails and wood on the roof and hammer gently on our house as the man asked the girl to pull the bags from the backseat.

Her boots crunched over the snow and the door of the car opened.

I tugged at the longest piece of wood that was practically rotted from end to end but the nail keeping it attached to the roof was rusted and wouldn't come out.

I gave it one hard yank and the wood beam flew off our roof toward the house next door.

There was the sound of it shattering against the ground and before that a shriek and the clatter of luggage falling to the floor. .

"OUCH! WHAT THE-"

I leapt off of our roof and next door where the girl laid sprawled.

"Flower are you okay!" the man shouted coming from the back of the truck.

The girl sat into a sitting position leaning on one arm and rubbing her head with the other.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized. I pulled at the hand over her forehead. "Let me see it."

"No I'm fi-" she started.

"Rose, honey, let us see it," the man pleaded.

"No, really I'm-" she started again but when we pulled her arm away from her forehead and blood came away on her hand and running down the side of her face she stopped mid sentence.

"Oh great," she laughed as if it was the funniest thing in the world, to bleed from your head and she passed out.

"Rose!"

"It's okay my mother's a healer she can help," I explained.

Before the man could say anything I lifted the girl, older than I had anticipated from the roof, into my arms and toward my house.

The man followed not even bothering to call for his wife.

My mother met us at the door and ordered me to lay the girl Rose, on the couch. She cleaned up the wound and quickly stitched it up to stop the bleeding.

"I heard the commotion from in here," she explained laying a warm compress on Rose's head. She turned her full gaze onto me. "You dropped a piece of plywood on one of our new neighbors?" incredulously.

"I didn't make any noise," I countered. "Although I might have when the wood made contact with her head," I added sheepishly.

"Somehow I thought when you finally brought a girl home she wouldn't be unconscious," she muttered. She turned back to the man perched on the arm of the couch.

"You're daughter will be fine. She'll just be a little disoriented. I'm Olena by the way. We spoke on the phone," she greeted.

"Father of the knocked out girl, Abraham or just Abe. I was hoping Rose would adjust easy here and make new friends by any means necessary but a piece of wood to the head wasn't what I had in mind," he said to me.

"This is my son Dimitri," my mother introduced as we shook hands.

"I'm really sorry. I didn't think any of the nails were rusted that badly."

"It's alright. Considering you had to listen to our little family squabble when we first arrive and made that your first impression of us, we're even. I don't think Janine is going to take it so lightly though. Or Rose for that matter."

I sat and remembered how irritated and irate she'd been upon arrival and tried imagine how dispositions once awaking to find out the new neighbor dropped a piece of wood on her head.

"Well, we'll work it all out if you all come for dinner later. Janine is your wife I presume. I'm sure she won't want to do anything, especially not cook, but dote over daughter upon finding out she's been attacked by a piece of our house," my mother invited.

"Oh we could impose-" Abe started to refuse but my mother insisted.

"Besides it'll give us a chance to atone for our first impressions."

Abe finally settled and agreed to come to dinner.

Pepper walked into the living room and nudged Rose with his wet nose. She stirred as I pulled the dog away.

She moaned and tried to sit up.

She looked at each of the pair of eyes staring back at her and rested finally upon my own.

"You…hit me with wood."

"Dropped," I amended.

"What the hell man?" she tried to shriek but her voice was hoarse. She plopped back down on the couch and rubbed at her head. "It's my first day here Old Man and it hadn't been a good one," she said to her father.

"Think of it as a unique Russian hello," he said trying to hide a smile.

She rolled her eyes and met mine again.

"Welcome to Baia."


	2. And the Joke Goes On

My mother went all out for the dinner. She made everything from pastas to varying types of meat to salad. This wasn't her special occasion dinner. She cooked like this all of the time even when food money was scarce.

"Rose is cute, yes?" she asked me in Russian.

I was stirring cake mix attentively because somehow whenever I stirred the mix became liquefied. Victoria said it was because I had unnaturally muscled arms.

I mumbled an agreement not really taking my mother's words in completely.

"I think she might like you. You know…once she gets over the fact that you hit her with a piece of wood."

"Dropped," I muttered automatically.

I was trying to avoid conversations such as these as much as I could. My mother and my sisters were always trying to play matchmaker because their twenty-four year old brother and son still had yet to bring a serious girl home. Around here, if you were in your early twenties and didn't have children or a girlfriend or both, you were pretty much classified as a loner, a title I wouldn't mind carrying around. I had what I needed.

"Maybe you could take her out around the village, I mean there's nothing much to see but-"

"Take who out around the village?" Victoria asked walking through the kitchen door. She set the two bags of groceries beside me and leaned forward on the counter toward mom eager to listen.

"The new neighbor girl. They moved in today."

"Is that their truck in the driveway?" she peeked out the side window to look again. "I saw it as I was coming up. Nice. Dimka whoever this girl you should definitely marry her. We need someone wealthy in the family," she said her voice muffled by the window.

"Victoria! Don't pressure your brother. He'll take her out first and then-"

I rolled my eyes deflating the last of the air bubbles with the whisk as they continued plotting out my future without me.

"So what do they all look like?" She asked setting her bag down.

She moved to start stacking the groceries away in the refrigerator and the shelves.

"You can see for your self tonight. They're coming for dinner."

"You've invited them over already?"

"Well, I felt I had to after your brother-"

"Dropped," I interrupted.

"-a piece of wood on the poor girls head."

"Is that your method of flirting? Dimka, you're supposed to marry the rich girl and then bump her off not the other way around," Victoria joked.

She smiled even if I wore my expression of seriousness.

"It was an accident. She's fine. She's sleeping it off in the living room," I told her.

"What! She's here?" Victoria tiptoed to the doorway two rooms over, my mother on her heels.

"Pretty. I'm assuming she looks better without the bandages?" she commented on her way back into the kitchen.

"I didn't notice," I muttered.

"Oh yeah right Dimka, like you didn't a thing like that!" Mom exclaimed.

"She kind of looks like Natasha don't you think?" Victoria asked.

"I thought so too a little bit," my mother agreed.

Natasha was a high school friend I was coerced into dating after graduation and someone I saw on and off whenever she was in the neighborhood. She mostly stayed in the city helping politicians and that was where we discovered our difference of opinions.

I ignored them both still commenting here and there and handed my other the cake mix batter.

She pushed the chopping board in front of me with a head of lettuce and onion on the edges.

"For the salad."

I chopped in silence as they went on planning dates I wasn't going to go on like all of the others with a girl I didn't know.

"So muscle man knows how to use his hands without throwing wood?" asked an unaccented voice.

"I dropped it," I said automatically. I realized it wasn't my mother or my sister's voice that had spoken. I turned to the doorway that led to the living room where Rose stood leaning against the frame.

"Oh good you're up. I thought I was going to have to slap you awake," my mother laughed.

Rose smiled at her unsure if she was joking or not.

She rubbed at the thick bandage on the side of her head and groaned.

"Why is your kitchen spinning?" she muttered. My mother went to usher her to sit down beside me at the counter. Whether or not she had an ulterior motive for doing so I was unsure.

"You just sit here beside Dimka and I'll get you some tea."

"Is that some type of food?" she asked sounding confused.

"Tea is a drink," Victoria said slowly. "How hard did you hit her on the head," she whispered.

Rose shook her head. "I know what tea is. What is a Dimka?"

"Dimitri," I told her.

"What?"

"Dimka is Dimitri in Russian?"

"You're a Dimka?"

I nodded.

"And a Dimitri?"

I nodded again uncertain when my name suddenly needed an article in front of it.

Rose nodded an "Oh," looking a little unstable and laid her cheek against the counter facing me.

A heartbeat later after watching me chop for a few minutes she lifted her head for a second, her expression puzzled and then she started laughing silently to herself. My mother set the cup of tea in front of Rose, her brows furrowed looking worried.

Rose sipped still giggling silently to herself.

"Something funny?" I asked after a while.

"You're…a pretty big guy," she noted.

"Believe me we've noticed," Victoria smiled.

"I mean…you're a pretty big guy chopping small pieces of onion in the kitchen."

"Should I be chopping in the bathroom?"

She shook her head her smile deflating a bit.

"I don't know why it's so funny to me," she said sipping the tea.

"Must be the medicine I applied to your wound kicking in. You'll be a little hysterical for a while."

They watched as she sipped her tea and I continued chopping.

"I'm Victoria by the way, Dimitri's sister," she greeted grabbing Rose's hand and shaking it. Rose stiffened pulling her hand gingerly away.

"Rose."

"You have any sister or older brothers?" Victoria asked or I guess I should say interrogated.

"Why, does your brother went to meet them the same way he met me?"

Victoria laughed.

I rolled my eyes exasperated and earned a playful shove from my mother. She whispered to me in Russian not to do that or my eyes would get stuck that way.

"-all muscle and sometimes brain," Victoria was saying. Rose glanced at me and smiled sipping the rest of her tea.

"We're just like one big happy family here in Baia. We like to get to know one another," Victoria explained.

"More like pump each other for information," I muttered.

Victoria stuck her tongue out at me, a real mature act for a fifteen year old, and turned her attention back to Rose.

"So no sisters? We could really use more girl power around here."

"No we don't," I muttered.

Rose shook her head. "No sisters."

"Cute older brothers or any brothers? I'm sure if they look like you, they're gorgeous."

Rose suppressed a smile. "No just me. Only child."

"Well, we girls will take what we can get. Welcome to the neighborhood."

"Thanks," Rose smiled tears welling in her eyes. She wiped them away anxiously.

"Aww…moments like these make me emotional too," my mother smiled.

"No, it's the onions," Rose pointed. "What? Since you couldn't make me cry with the piece of wood you have to use onions?"

I stood, giving up on trying to explain it was an accident and handed my mother the chopping board.

"Oh come on Dimka don't leave," Victoria laughed.

I bit the bottom of my lips biting back whatever comment was building up.

"I'm going to go finish the roof before dinner," I said excusing myself.

I paused, awkwardly, waiting for the joke but it didn't come. I turned heading for the door when Rose spoke.

"I'll stay here. You know just in case."


	3. Once Upon A Dinner

It should have been little surprise to me that the entirety of first conversations around the dinner table would consist mostly of my mother recanting the story of how I had dropped a piece of wood on our new neighbor.

Karolina and Sonya did nothing but laugh.

Yeva rocked back in her chair beside Rose and smiled, something she so rarely did.

Even little Paul and Zoya seemed amused though I'm doubtful Zoya understood a word her grandmother was saying.

"-really am sorry though that this is how we had to meet under such circumstance," my mother was apologizing.

"I'm not," Victoria said. "It'll be a nice story to look back upon."

Mrs. Mazur seemed like she was trying her best to see the humor in the situation and I was right there with her. She nodded at my mother and sister and patted a barely conscious Rose on the shoulder.

"My son is usually pretty good with his hands. He built or helped build most of the houses in this neighborhood alone including the one you live in," my mother noted biting into a piece of a roll.

"Oh yes! We really wanted to thank you for that, my wife and I," Mr. Mazur said.

"We really loved the work you did, especially the bedrooms," Mrs. Mazur said appreciatively speaking for the first time that evening.

"Oh no," Rose mumbled.

Even in her dizzy stupor she seemed to be listening to most of the conversation.

"The fireplaces?" I guessed.

Mrs. Mazur smiled and glanced at her daughter who was burying her face in her hands.

Everyone looked on, amused.

"Well not only the fireplaces but also we asked specifically for the extra bedrooms for our future son in law and whatever grandchildren that transpire," Mrs. Mazur explained looking a bit sheepish sipping from her glass.

"Oh!" My mother gasped surprised. "We can understand that. I used to worry I wouldn't have enough bedrooms if my children married and had children but so far none of them have yet to leave home so all's well," she said cheerfully.

"Yeah we're a close knit bunch," Sonya muttered.

"In fact, it seem almost like tradition since Mama still lives with Grandma Yeva," Karolina laughed.

The table vibrated with laughter. My family always seemed to find the humor in even the worst of situations. Truth be told everyone still lived at home because we couldn't afford to go our separate waves but I'm pretty certain even if we did have the money we wouldn't turn down the offer of staying together. I used to think about leaving, afraid I'd be smothered by living in the same town for the rest of my life without any change or seeing anything that was out there in the world, and for a while I left and ventured further out of Baia a few cities away but a mixture of homesickness and the financial woes of my own and my family had me back home within the year.

"It sounds 'old school' as my daughter would say but it feels like more of a sure thing having those extra bedrooms that my daughter will be married and taken care of," Mr. Mazur explained.

"Do you have to tell this story everywhere we go?" Rose muttered.

Her mother smiled and took another bite of food again.

"Getting to know the neighbors," her father smiled.

"Is this apart of your campaigning?" Rose asked leaning around her mother to her father. Her hair was disheveled where she'd been leaning on her hand.

"No it's apart of being neighborly."

This answer didn't seem to satisfy her. She shook her head muttering under her breath and leaned back in her chair arms folded over her chest.

"Campaigning?" Victoria asked.

"I'm running for mayor," Mr. Mazur said downing the rest of his drink.

Everyone seated around the table that was related to me paused.

Talk about politicians made anyone who wasn't directly associated with them uneasy but seated at the table with one made people anxious. Zoya was the only one at the table still eating tossing a piece of meat into her mouth chewing it contentedly.

"What?" Mr. Mazur said taking notice of the sudden silence.

Karolina was the first to speak.

"Um…sorry. People are just a little uneasy about…about-"

"Politicians," Sonya finished.

Mr. Mazur set down his glass solemnly.

"I can understand that. I've heard of the…horror stories of what some of the politicians around here are capable of, of what they do in order to win public favor."

"So you understand it's nothing personal?" I clarified though I wasn't completely certain myself that it wasn't personal.

"Of course. Perhaps we should-" Mrs. Mazur began pushing her chair back to stand.

"Oh no! We were just a little bit taken off guard," my mother said motioning for them to sit. The couple stood anyway. "Politicians aren't exactly the finer parts of our society around here. We're not saying that we know you'd be one of the few good or among the corrupt. You might be one of the good one trying to change things. Believe me if I had the chance and the courage I might even run for mayor."

"Understandable. I want to clarify that I intend to run a clean campaign and I hope none of this will affect our relationship as neighbors."

"Of course not," my mother reassured. "It seems we've both made lasting first impressions," she smiled.

"It is getting late though and we should be going. We have a bit of unpacking to do," Mrs. Mazur said nudging Rose.

Everyone stood to walk the Mazurs to the door and said their goodbyes.

"Thank you for the lovely dinner and we're sorry if our little announcement caused a commotion," Mrs. Mazur apologized.

My mother reassured her that it was all right.

I stood behind as everyone said goodbye and watched them leave when someone brushed my arm walking by, or more like nudged it.

"Next time you see me and want to say hi you can just use your words," Rose said with a crooked smile.

She walked backward, gave me a joking wink laughing, and left behind her parents.

I gave myself a heavy mental sigh imagining the years to come living next to her and headed back into the kitchen.

My mother mentioned that the dinner didn't end the way she had hoped and that her and Victoria's plans to play matchmaker were thrown off by Abe Mazur's announcement.

"I forgot to ask if Rose wanted a tour of Baia tomorrow. Dimitri you should've asked?"

I stacked the last of the dishes on the shelf.

"I think the best thing we can do is stay away from them," I told her honestly.

"Why? They seem nice," Karolina said.

"You know as well as I do that living next to a politician is dangerous but being friend and getting close to them-"

"Dimka you're exaggerating."

"I'm protecting my family."

With that I went up stairs. I felt worn down. Today was one of those long days that passed slowly and never seemed to end. I only hoped that my mother would heed my warning. If I seemed unfair or overprotective it was because I didn't want to see my family suddenly on the street because they made friends with the wrong people. Baia was a small town, quiet, but full of just as much danger and secrets as any other city.

The next morning came quickly.

I opened my eyes to a clear blue early morning sky patterned with fluffy white clouds. I pulled on jeans and a long sleeve, eager to get a whiff of the fresh morning air. It wasn't too often that it was like this: quiet and I had time to think to myself. Don't get me wrong I love my family but living in a house full of girls and the only other male being a six year old took its toll.

Everyone else was still asleep so I was careful to the leave the house silently with Pepper towing along. She panted and eased her way through the front door behind me. Once outside she ran through the trees across from our house to do whatever it is dogs do in their spare time and came back, sitting beside me in the grass between our house and the Mazurs.

I lay back in the grass and stared up at the sky wishing I could stay in moments like these forever. I watched as the clouds slowly moved over our house and hovered over the neighboring house. I caught the glimpse of a figure moving on the roof. I sat up to see the figure completely. Whoever it was watched the sky as I had been before and sat up at the sound of my boots against the grass.

_Damn the luck, _I muttered to myself in Russian.

It was Rose.

She saw me and smiled. I didn't meet her smile instead falling back onto the steps that led into the kitchen with Pepper lying in front of me.

I watched as she climbed down the side of her house on the two windowsills that paralleled and leaned against the fence.

"So you're an early bird huh?" She asked sounding amused.

I gave a slight shrug.

"I would've never figure you for one," I muttered.

She smiled to herself.

For a moment no one spoke and one of those long drawn out silences sat between us.

She fidgeted with the white bandage on her forehead.

"Should you be climbing with a head injury?"

She imitated my shrug, a sly smile on her face.

"I like to watch the sun come up."

I looked up at the sky where the clouds where still too thick. The sun had yet to fully rise.

"Still waiting for it to make it's appearance," she said as if reading my expression and answering my thoughts aloud. She stood there watching my expression. When I met her gaze she averted her eyes to where Pepper was lying.

"Can I join you?"

I shrugged.

She took that as an invitation and climbed over the fence. She knelt in front of Pepper and patted his head.

"She's beautiful," she murmured.

"She's a he."

Rose leaned down and peeked under her to make sure.

"Sorry," She mumbled to the dog. She sat herself in the grass beside Pepper never taking her hand off.

"What's his name?"

"Pepper."

She smiled. "Fitting for a beautiful...Siberian husky?"

I nodded.

"I'm surprised I got the name right. I'm not around dogs much. I'm not allowed to have one. My mom has allergies and even if she didn't my dad says I'm too much in more own world to take care of a dog."

She seemed to talk even if I chose not answer so I watch the sky as Rose's voice went on in the background. After a few moments I realized she wasn't speaking anymore. I looked away from the sky long enough to see Rose staring back at me, a barely there smile on her face. She kind of reminded me of Victoria in that sense that she didn't need much to smile or laugh or talk.

"You don't like me much do you?"

It was a blunt question that kind of through me for a second.

"I never said that," was my puzzled but honest answer.

"You didn't deny it either," she pointed out. She sat waiting for my reply but she was going to be sitting for long time because I didn't have one. It wasn't entirely personal but no, from the few times Rose and I spoke directly to each other, or that Rose spoke to me and I tried not to listen, I didn't like her. The rest of it was because of the political family issue.

She watched me for a moment, trying to read my expression I guess but I was the reigning champion of impassive expressions. She shook her head running a hand through her long hair but the wind blew it back into her face a few moments later.

At that moment i had a clear look of her.

I honestly didn't notice before but my mother and sister were right. She was beautiful...in a unique way. Not the average beautiful that most girls seemed to naturally be born with. She had looks that would make her stand out.

If she was going to live around here and be a politician's daught, her father proably shouldn't count on any female votes because surely they'd envy Rose's tanned skin, natural I guessed, wide bright brown eyes and her facial features that all seemed either smooth, perfectly curved or both.

She watched as I silently analyzed her and I looked away almost ashamed to be doing so.

She must have taken that as another notion of me not liking her because then she stood.

"I guess what you said last night about it not being personal was a lie," she said pulling down the leg of the pajama bottoms she was wearing. "Or maybe it's just me."

She paused either going for a dramatic moment or to see if I'd respond. If it was the later she shouldn't have expected much. I clasped my hands together and met her eyes. Standing while I was still seated on the steps leaning my arms against my knees she was my eye level.

"I'm looking out for my family. That's my priority. Making friends with the neighbors is the least of my worries. Especially if their involved in politics," I told her truthfully.

She flinch as if I'd slapped her but shook her self trying to regain her composure.

"Whatever. Screw you," she muttered and turned toward her own home.

Pepper stood to follow. Taking notice she ruffled his fur once, gave me the 'fiercest of all girl glares' as Victoria would say and left, climbing over the small fence that didn't reach the drive way.

Yes, it was going to be a long time living beside her.


	4. An Outing

"Come on Dimka," my mother said motioning for me to follow.

I lifted and lowered the window I had just fixed.

"Come where?" I asked setting down my tools.

"We're going into the city today. I asked Janine if she might want a tour of the town and she said yes so let's go!" She smiled walking between the invisible line that divided our house form theirs.

I would've protested but I never let anyone in my family go into the city alone. It was too dangerous especially since the police couldn't be counted upon to do anything.

"Alright."

"Grab Pepper, he could use a walk," she instructed.

"I don't think I should. Janine Mazur has pet allergies or something."

My mother's face turned surprised a coy smile on her face.

"How do you know that?"

_Uh oh._

"Rose told me this morning," I reluctantly admitting.

"You and Rose were together this morning? Alone? Together? You and her?"

"In every form of the matter yes. I got up early and apparently so did Rose and that's all that happened," I added before she tried to reach any grand conclusions but it looks like my words were ignored and the only thing my mother seemed to absorb was me and Rose together.

She smiled to herself.

_I had to be considerate and mention those darn allergies_ I chastised myself.

"I'll bring Pepper but we'll stay a little ways behind you."

My mother nodded still smiling and climbed the steps to the Mazur's front door. I was already trying to forget about this morning, as it was I didn't need these added to troubles to remind me.

I heard Janine open the front door and great my mother.

I only had to whistle once for Pepper before he came bounding down the stairs, probably rolling his fur on my bed, and tackled me at the front door.

When I came out Janine and my mother stood on the sidewalk waiting and too my surprise so was Rose. Upon spotting me her eyes widened and I thought I saw a brief smile but before I could tell she turned away tugging her thick coat tighter around her.

"Alright Dimka's here, let's go!" My mother said excitedly.

The two mothers walked a few feet ahead my mother talking animatedly with Janine nodding her head every so often. That left Rose and I walking a few feet back with Pepper bobbing between us.

I suspected she only walked near at all because Pepper was here. I wondered if I should feel the slightest bit of offense that someone was more interested in a dog rather than me but I decided I didn't care and that it didn't matter.

She smiled down at Pepper and couldn't seem to resist touching his fluffed fur. Pepper liked the attention he rarely received at home and nuzzled Rose's hand or would nudge the back of her leg as she walked.

"Um…why aren't we driving?" Rose asked after a while. I had expected the question sooner.

"The city isn't that far away and I thought it might be nice to point out a few of your neighbors," my mother told her.

"Doesn't seem like we have many," Janine muttered.

"It's just a week day, everyone's in the city working or looking for work," my mother answered.

"Do you work?" Rose asked.

I wasn't sure if the question was meant as offensive or just curiosity but her voice held that tone of attitude I had expected was only natural for her.

My mother laughed, not offended.

"I'm a healer which is why you were brought to me when you and Dimka had that little accident."

I rolled my eyes inwardly.

"That's so cool!" Rose squeaked. I looked at her surprised. Some how I figured she'd be unable to appreciate such a commonplace job. "Do you use like natural herb and old potions and stuff?" She asked curious.

"A few but I stick to band-aids and Tylenol too," she smiled.

"The only thing I know how to patch up is a pair of jeans," Rose muttered. I smiled to myself.

Rose, taking notice, gave a small smile but it faded quickly, I supposed my words from this morning coming back to memory.

"You build houses?" she asked.

I nodded without looking at her.

"Dimitri finds whatever construction work that is available and hopefully his jobs won't become so scarce as all of the others have," my mother clarified.

"But you guys have the perfect jobs," Rose said. "There will always be sick people and there will always be people that need houses and buildings. They're the perfect jobs."

The three of slowed briefly to look at Rose.

My mother smiles appreciatively.

"Thank you. I think I needed those words."

"I've never heard my daughter speak so…highly of actually working. Perhaps that medication you gave her has a lasting affect," Janine said.

"I'd like to think it's just the fresh Russian air," my mother says.

"I suppose. It's not so bad here. It'll take some getting used to."

"Our little town might not be much but it has…potential and hope," my mother smiled. She grabbed a surprised Janine's hand and pulled her into the shops as we arrived into the city. Rose laughed probably at her mother's expression and hurriedly followed behind. They went in and out of every shop my mother introducing the owners and everyone we knew inside.

I waited outside of the dress shop with Pepper sitting at me feet.

"Belikov is that you?"

I turned and smiled at the familiar voice.

"Zecklos," I said simply. He patted me on the shoulder and gave one of his shoulder punches. Ivan was an inch or two shorter than me, which was the grounds upon which we built our friendship in grade school.

"What are you doing out and about?"

"My mom's here giving the new neighbors a tour of Baia," I explained. I gestured inside the store where the three women were visible through the window.

"Good looking bunch, your mother included," Ivan laughed.

I ignored that as he went on talking.

"Especially the girl," he added as Rose stood alone now staring at a long silk cloth of a dress.

"She's a little young and a politicians daughter."

He thought for a moment. "I think I'll make an exception given that I've never really minded a girls age before."

I merely shook my head not surprised.

"Unless you want her for yourself," he added eyeing me suspiciously. "Finally joining the pursuit of women?"

I raised my eyebrows.

"I didn't think so. How's the house building business?"

"Same."

He looked around as if someone might be listening and walked me a few feet away, Pepper following behind.

"If you're looking for work…I think I have a job for you."

"What is it?"

He paused looking around again.

"It's…a combination of security detail and promoting."

I glared at him trying to decipher for myself what the job was. He whispered as if it was some big secret.

"Security and promoting? Protecting and promoting what exactly?"

"Not a what," he added almost sheepishly.

It took a moment but I could practically feel the wheels turning in my head before I felt the click of realization.

"Working for one of them. The wanna be government officials?"

"Shh! It's just for a while-"

"Ivan! You know how this goes. They say it's temporary and then they have you doing their dirty work, throwing people out of home intimidating them into voting and supporting."

"It's not like that," he tried to explain but I was hearing it. I was surprised he even bought into it. If things became so bad that Ivan of all people would change then who's to say what'll happen to us.

I was about to go into lecture mode when I was interrupted.

"Dimitri? Everything okay."

Ivan and I turned facing Rose who stood a worried expression on her face.

"Fine," I said curtly, confused by her concern. "This is a friend of mine Ivan," I introduced. He reached for her hand and she stiffened barely relaxing by the time she released it.

"Hi," he said all 'Ivan flirtatious' smiles.

Rose seemed a little more impassive than I would expect and nodded turning to me.

"Your mom says she's ready to go," she told me. I glance where my mother was waiting with Janine pointing out the few stores they didn't bother to go in.

"I'll be there in a second."

She paused, glancing at Ivan uncertainly and then nodded walking away. Pepper trotted off behind her.

"Doesn't seem like she's taken to me much," Ivan acknowledges. "Oh well. I love a chase."

Ignoring his comment I continued our conversation from before.

"Ivan think about it man. Working for these crooks can only end badly. Get out while you still can," I warned.

He smiled. "You sound like your quoting some horror movie. Look, I'll be fine. I'm working for one of the less threatening ones…Ivashkov."

"Doesn't matter the level of corruption they're all bad."

"If you need money, like I did a few weeks ago, and you're out of options, call me," was all he said, patting the side of my face teasingly before walking away. I watched as he walked away toward some man standing literally in the shadows. I shook my head in disbelief and turned to walk home.

I couldn't believe it. It seemed like the best of us were already find the worse alternatives for a big problem that didn't look like it was going to improve soon. I promised myself something then. I promised I wasn't going to let anything bad happen to my family. I promised I was going to do whatever it took to make sure none of use turned to corrupt politicians for money. I promised myself all of this and hoped I'd be able to kept hat promise.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked. We'd been walking for a while now in silence.

Janine seemed to be contributing a little bit more to the conversation with my mother a few feet ahead. I had been walking lost in thought.

"I'm fine," I answered simply.

Besides my mother I'd never had someone check to make sure I was all right so often.

"That's the second time you've asked me," I pointed out a little annoyed.

Her eyes squinted and she scoffed turning away from me.

"Because you looked a like something was…what's that stupid word my father uses?" she asked herself. "You looked like something was amiss. It's called being nice but apparently when I'm even near you all you see is a politician's daughter and you hate me so you know what? Never mind."

I glanced over at her where her breathing was a bit labored after her tirade. She reached absent-mindedly for Pepper for comfort and didn't look my way pulling on a pair of sunglasses.

I sighed deciding I was being a little unjust. The news about Ivan just took me off guard.

"I…apologize. It's just been one of those…years and I'm taking it out on the closest person to a politician to me."

She barely acknowledged me. Her brows furrowed at my convoluted sentence.

After a while she spoke.

"Are things that bad around here? The city didn't seem so bad."

"It's what you don't see that so awful." I paused to gather my next words. "My friend Ivan just told me he's-"

"Gone dark side?" she guessed.

I nodded unsure why I felt the need to confide this. It was most likely to make up for my earlier rudeness. If it was anything my mother tried to teach me it was to be as nice to others as possible so karma, or a Russian form of karma, would balance out. I wasn't doing so well right now but maybe I could make up for it.

"I'm sure if he did he had good reason." I was more like she was trying to convince herself of this than me.

"Doubtful."

She gave a crooked smile, a usual expression for her I realized, at my one word response.

It wasn't a completely terrible smile; I noted and turned facing forward again.

"Maybe…your father will improve the city." I had meant more as a joke but it came out as a question.

Rose laughed outright.

"That was really hard for you to say wasn't it?"

"Very," I admitted.

She laughed to herself.

"No. I don't think my father will win much favor among here."

"Why's that?"

"You said yourself politicians were corrupt. All I have to say is, he isn't perfect either." She left it at that lifting Pepper's nose and bending to ruffle his fur before walking again. She did this so often we were further from our mothers with each step.

She stopped once to bend and smooth down his fur, or at least try to and glance up at me where I was watching her.

"Sorry. I'm not usually this slow…actually I am according to my P.E. teacher but it's nice to have a dog around for once."

I nodded and bent to give Pepper my own pat on the head.

"Pepper makes a good companion," I agreed. He seemed to love the attention moving between Rose and I.

"Especially when you're an only child and alone so often."

I didn't have a response for this. I was almost never alone. My family was there so often it was almost maddening. I couldn't turn around without seeing one of the Belikova women. I watched her for a second where the wind blew her hair across her face and she gave Pepper all the attention he craved.

"He seems to like you. He rarely takes to strangers."

She smiled.

"Maybe we can both share Pepper," I offered. I had no idea where the sudden need for niceness came from but it felt nice to not be so hostile.

Her eyes widened take off by my niceness as much as me and her face lit up.

I took pride in the fact that I had been able to do that, the same feeling my mother and Victoria must have felt whenever they made people laugh.

"Really? I'd love that."

"You're more than welcome to come see him whenever you want."

She nodded eagerly biting her bottom lip.

"Are you two coming?" my mother called. I could practically hear the smile and I told you so in her voice.

I stood then clearing g my voice.

"We'd better go."

Rose and I hurried to catch up. My mother hooked her arm threw mine smiling and patting me reassuringly.

This was all I needed. Janine placed an arm over Rose's shoulder glancing back at me and smiling suddenly when I met her gaze. She led her daughter to their own house as we waved our good byes.

As I walked to my own home my mother all the while giving me 'I told you so' and whistling I was struck by my earlier promise to myself.

Nothing is going to happen. I wont let anything happen to change my family.

I just hoped I'd be able to keep it.


	5. With Every Second

"You know you're not the only one who has to get ready around here muscle man," Victoria said pushing past me heading into the bathroom.

"You take longer than us actual girls," she sighed slamming the door.

I ignored her comment.

I was one of only two boys in lived in this house and whenever the bathroom was rarely open I was sure to take full advantage. I took a long hot shower after spending the last three weeks working on a five-story building with only five other men in one of Russia's lower class neighborhoods. I felt like I'd been pouring myself into working as many jobs as I could since bumping into Ivan.

"Don't take too long. Everyone will be here soon," I warned.

I could practically hear the eye –roll in her voice.

"Says you Mr. Hour Long Shower!"

I headed down stairs and the second my foot touched the last step Karolina placed a wailing Zoya in my arms.

"She's a little fussy. Can you do that trick or whatever it is you do to calm her down?" she asked looking a little flustered.

Karolina worked from early in the morning until the late afternoon and the moment she came her all of her attention went to her two kids. We all tried to help out when we could but with everything so tight around here lately it wasn't easy but I always thought it was more difficult with Karolina.

"It's not a trick she just likes his beefy arms," Sonya says waddling past.

I gave my older sister one of my glares and Karolina an eye-roll for laughing. My arms weren't that big. I shifted Zoya in my arms and she started calming down.

"Oh yeah it's the muscles," Karolina laughs heading back into the kitchen.

" Maybe she just likes me," I called.

Her laugh echoed from the kitchen.

We had a few friends coming over for one of our Sunday dinners, including Ivan, and soon the house was full of so many people it was hard to move around. There were people laughing, playing an odd mix of traditional Russian songs and modern music in the back yard, and the smell of food filled the air.

It was so noisy Zoya couldn't fall asleep and kept shifting in my arms. I decided the house was too crowded for us and I walked out the front door and down the sidewalk a little bit with Pepper trotting behind me.

I could still hear the noise coming from our house and was surprised the Mazurs didn't complain. My mother had said she went to invite them over but no one answered. Since I'd been working a lot lately I didn't see much of the Mazurs either since our trip into the city. I had expected Rose to take me up on the offer of her visiting Pepper whenever she wanted the next day but the only time I saw her was when I was coming home around midnight after finishing up a days work and she had been staring out of her window blankly.

In order to avoid any awkwardness on whether or not to say hello I waved and she gave a slight smile, barely waved, and, after giving a quick glance over her shoulder, moved away from the window, pulling the curtains and shutting off the lights.

Something had been off about her expression but I didn't think much about it until now.

I was still pacing with Zoya who was now smiling but now exactly sleeping contently in my arms.

She nuzzled against my shoulder.

Maybe it was my muscles.

"…just stay away from me!" Someone shouted.

I looked away from Zoya and turned toward the Mazur house.

The front door opened and Rose came running down the steps.

"Rose, you don't understand! Come back in here! I mean it." It sounded like Janine yelling.

Rose stopped running and kept walking apparently not worried that her mother would come after her. She shifted on her feet in front of her house apparently at a stand off with her mother who was standing in the doorway.

Normally I was one to help anyone who needed it but family matters were a different situation entirely. Not to mention that if I involved myself now then that would mean involving Zoya.

There was a certain look, though, the way Rose clenched her jaw stubbornly and glared back at her mother unsure of where to go in a city she wasn't familiar with that I couldn't help trying to help.

I walked to where Rose stood as casually as I could without acknowledging or showing any sign that I had witnessed what was going on.

I heard the front door shut but I didn't turn to see. Janine seemed like the type of wife and mother to think it better to keep family situations within the family.

"Hey," I greeted. Rose jumped at the sound of my voice and smiled slightly when she realized it was me.

"Hey," she said. Her voice sounded hoarse and was barely above a whisper. She gave Zoya a smile too and kneeled to ruffle Pepper's fur. "What're you doing out here?"  
"I thought it might be nice to get away from the noise for a while. Zoya couldn't handle it."

She stood then and gently brushed Zoya's arm and she giggled outright.

"You probably used your niece as an excuse. You really don't seem like the party animal type to me," Rose noted, playing with Zoya's fingers.

"Only on holidays," I joked dryly.

Rose laughed, lifting her eyes to meet my own. The way the moon's light lit her eyes made them shimmer a nice bright brown similar to the color I'd noticed on that trip into the city that seemed so long ago. There was something completely different about her expression I noted again. Her eyes looked tired and rimmed red from crying.

"We tried to invite you and your family but no one answered."

All signs of a smile faded and Rose moved her hand from Zoya to brush her hair out of her face.

"Things have been…crazy around here," she said simply.

"So it seems," I mutter glancing at her house. She caught my gaze and her eyes widened embarrassed.

"You heard?"

I nod.

"I'm surprised the whole neighborhood didn't hear," she whispers.

"They probably did. Normally they'd probably already come and stand on your front lawn to see what was going on but since you're new around here and-"

"-and because my fathers a politician they didn't," she finished.

I nod again.

"The noise from our house probably muffled any…disagreement you guys were having." I cleared my throat and shifted on my feet uncomfortable.

Rose just nodded staring down at the ground where Pepper wound his way around her legs. She smiled down at him and kneeled in front of him.

"We're just…having a hard time. I think my parents thought moving here would be a fresh start but it turns out everything's the same as it was at home," she explained.

"Where's home?"

"I honestly have no idea any more," she muttered. She sighed realizing that wasn't what I meant and answered. "Montana originally but we've lived all over the United States. I think we even lived in some sort of igloo mansion in Alaska once."

I could help but smile.

"I think…I just need to get out of the house, away from them for a while."  
Zoya ran her hand along the smoothness of my shirt and smiled in her sleep, a small bracelet jingling on her wrist that I had gotten for her at one of Moscow's biggest parks where there was nothing but trees, ponds, and people trying to sell weird jewelry and bright clothes.

"There's this park in Moscow that's always having these weird fairs my sister's drag me to."

She looked up expectantly. I hadn't exactly asked her anything. It was more of a statement.

"It'll be a nice trip away from Baia for a while. I know it's sometimes suffocating after a little while here."

Again I didn't really ask her out. I didn't want her to get the wrong idea.

She nodded, realizing that was as close to asking her out for a day I was going to get.

"Sounds good."

"I'll meet you here tomorrow morning."

"I usually don't do mornings but I'll make an exception. I'm desperate." She had said this as her joke but her voice suddenly was very sad.

She brushed her hand through Pepper's fur and looked up at me.

"Would you mind if he stayed with me tonight?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Of course. I mean… I wouldn't mind if you took him home tonight. Isn't your mother allergic though?"

"I don't think she'll mind tonight," Rose muttered. She stood then and gave Zoya a light touch goodbye and then looked up meeting my gaze.

"I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yeah…tomorrow."

She turned heading back reluctantly to her own home, Pepper not even giving a second glace back. I walked toward my own home wondering what I'd gotten myself into.

* * *

I stepped through the doorway into my own home again.

People were starting to leave.

I settled Zoya in her bed upstairs was about to head backdown when I bumped into someone in the darkness.

I closed Zoya's door and flicked on the hallway light.

"Tasha."

She hugged me quickly and pulled away before I could compeltely register that she was here. She stood away from me so that I'd get a good look at her. Tasha was always beautiful, one of the finer points of her beauty being her height that nearly matched my own.

She ran her hands down the front of a short dark dress that encased her slim body and shifted slightly so her long hair wouldnt fall into her face.

"Wow," I excalimed. Or I tried to but whenever I met with Tasha the first thing she always expected was fo rme to compliment on how well she looked, and she did, but after the first few times and a long couple of work weeks, it was hard to muster up ginuwine excitement.

My lack of excitement didn't seem to matter much though.

She smiled pleased by my attempted reaction enough.

"You like it? I brought it especially for tonight knowing I'd see you."

"What're you even doing here? I thought you were out of the country for a while."

"I was but I was feeling a little homesick and I missed you so...here I am," she said motioning to herself.

She reached to hug me agian but hesitated.

"I don't know if I should do that. I saw you with whom your mother was telling me is your girlfriend."

I resisted rolling my eyes ran a hand over my face exasperated.

"Rose is just our new neighbor. My mother's playing matchmaker again or she's trying to."

Tasha didn't need more of an explanation and wrapped her arms tightly around my neck her body against my own.

"That's good because I would hate to think this trip was a waste."

She kissed me muffling my response.

It was the same full on 'we haven't seen each other in a while and I want to sleep with you' kiss she gave me whenever we saw each other.

I broke the kiss, pulling back to meet her eyes.

"Since when do you become so homesick that you actually drop everythign and come home. I don't buy it."

She sighed, annoyed I'd pulled away first.

"I came back with Ivashkov to do a bit more campaigning before elections that are coming up."

"You're working with Ivashkov too. So is Ivan," I said surprised.

"Ivan's the one who got me the job and told me your family was having a get together tonight," she explained as if this was okay. The girl I'd been seeing on and off and my closest friend were supporting one of _them._

As if reading the expression on my face she touched a finger to my lips silencing me before I could speak.

"Let's not talk about this now. Have dinner with me tomorrow night and you can chastise me the next morning," she said playfully.

I was too stunned to even try to crack one of my rare smiles but I agreed. I had to know what was going on.

She leaned in and kissed me on the mouth for one of those long kisses again and then left, a cloud of heavy perfume floating after her. I watched as she swayed her way through the crowd and found Ivan. He gave me a nod and she gave me a wave before they left together.

I tried to massage at a growing headache that seemed to be worsening with every second. I headed to my own room to turn in for the night deciding I'd had enough of today despite the party that still went on downstairs.

I went to check on Zoya who was still asleep and envied her.

She could escape the long days that seemed to only grow worse with every second.

* * *

"You okay Uncle Dimka?" Paul asked munching on his cereal.

"Why?"

"You look like crap and you'r scaring us kids that's why," Victoria says sitting beside me. "It's because of Tasha isn't it?"

"What do you mean?" I ask turning my full on gaze to her.

"I mean that ho probably spent that night and you guys went at it all night long getting physical and now you sit here exhausted and looking like crap as Tasha is probably trying to shimmy her body out of our bathroom window. Am I right?"

Yeva, the claimed Psychich future seer she is, once told me she had bad vibes from Tasha and Victoria, not liking Tasha upon first meeting her, took Yeva's opinion to full consideration and hated her.

I ignored her and sipped the rest of my coffee.

"You guys were working out?" Paul asked munching on his cheerios. A few pieces came flying out of his mouth and sat at the center of the table.

"What?" I asked confused now.

"Victoria said you were getting physical,"he said innocently.

I glared at Victoria who shrugged munching on her fruit.

"That's...not what she meant." I hoped the conversaion the end there.

"What did she mean?"

"I meant they were screw-"

My mother came in slapped the back of Victoria's head and headed toward the coffee maker without stopping.

"If you're going to talk with a mouth like that at least have the decency to not talk in front of Paul."

"You'd be doing us all a favor if you'd stop talking," I mummbled.

She stuck her tounge out.

"But Pauls so innocent," Victoria tried to reason. "His little mind is so simple for me to teach him everything I know about the world, being completely honestly and not sugar coating anything like you and Karolina do."

"I guess Paul won't be learning much then," I said.

Victoria glared at me.

"I'm more than capable of teaching little Paul about life."

"You're more than capable of corrupting him."

"That's enough you two," My mother warned.

It always took her at least a day to recover from a previous party and the fact that the huose wasn't exactly looking its best right now probably didn't help her mood either.

I stood and set my cup in the sink.

"I have to go anyway," I told them grabbing the car keys and my coat.

"Work?"

"No. I said I'd take Rose out to one of the Parks in Moscow. I'll be back late thought because I'm having dinner with Tasha."

"Can I come?" Victoria asked hopefully.

"Can I?" asked Paul. "I like the girl you hit on the head."

"You have a playdate Paul," I reminded him ignoring his last comment.

He smiled as if he'd forgotten and immediately cheered up running away from the table into the living room.

I turned to Victoria then.

"No," I said heading for the back door.

She scoffed looking at mom hoping she'd make me take her with us.

She shrugged.

"Well then what am I supposed to do today?"

"How about your homework for once?" I suggested. She tossed a bit of fruit of me that I dodged.

"In case you haven't noticed Victoria our house isn't looking its best and I could use some extra hands so any volunteers?" mom asked.

I pointed to Victoria who just glared at me.

"So glad you could volunteer!" my mother said cheerfully, the affects of coffee kicking in. "If you're going to talk like trash I'm sure you won't mind cleaning it up," my mother said playfully.

"Great, I'm cleaning and Dimka gets to go off and fool around with the neighbor girl. I thought you didn't like her?"

I started to tell her that I didn't and we were just...going out for a day but my mother cut me off.

"No time for gossip with the house looking like this. Go on," my mother chastised ushering her toward the kitchen table handing her a sponge.

"Make sure you get those cereal pieces that flew out of Paul's mouth,"I pointed out.

"So I guess when I get to your room I'll be cleaning what? Condoms?"

"Victoria, go," my mother shooed.

Victoria gave me what I guess was supposed to be her 'wicked glare' as she called it and went to cleaning.

"As for you," my mother said coming toward me. "I thoguht you didn't like Rose," she siad in a low voice once so VIctoria wouldn't hear.

"We're just hanging out. Nothing more."

"Is this about your date with Tasha tonight?"

"How did you...?"

"I'm your mother I know everything."

I stared down at her.

"Okay, Yeva told me."

I waited still staring.

"This is a small town Dimka, word gets around...and Karolina said she heard you two on the stairs when she went to check on Zoya."

I nodded, believing she was finally telling the truth and turned to go.

* * *

Rose was sitting in our drive way petting Pepper when I came out.

"You took long enough," she greeted.

"When you have a house full of people like I do, it takes you a while to make it out of the house," I explained.

She nodded smiling and stood tugging her hair back into one of those loose buns that girls managed to pull off with long strands of hair still billowing in her face.

"Did magic give you a hard time?" I asked as the big fur ball almsot reluctantly walked away from Rose and came to greet me before sitting at her feet again.

"No he kept me company," she said staring at me her expression worried.

"Are you all right? You look tired."

"My sister said I look like crap this morning, you're telling me I look tired. Do I look bad?" I asked half laughing.

She gave me one of her crooked smiles.

"No you still look hot as always. You just look a little worn down. Maybe we shouldn't go so that you can get some sleep," It was a mix of a compliment, concern, and an unintended insult that was more of an observation.

I ignored the former part of the sentence.

"I'm just a little tired. I didn't get much sleep but I'll be fine," I said opening the car door.

She climbed in and I reached to put the seat belt on for her because it worked in a weird way.

"I haven't slept very well either but then again I wasn't partying like you were."

"I wasn't partying," I told her struggling to fasten the belt.

"Yeah right. You were doing the robot and stripping to LMFAO weren't you?"

I glanced at her confused. Now I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Pepper made _me_ feel better. Maybe you should take him home tonight," she suggested watching what I was doing. "But if feeling me up does it for you then go ahead."

I stopped moving completely.

She glanced down to where I was adjusting the belt across her chest. I stepped back from the car and shut her door walking to the driver's side.

This was going to be an interesting trip.


	6. Uncertainly Avoidable

The fair was as weird as I remembered since the last time I went with Sonya and Yeva. There were people dancing offbeat to the weird electron traditional music that was playing. They spun around Rose and I as we walked down the long path that ran straight through the park.

Rose loved it.

She was little quiet on the way here, which I was grateful for after the 'feeling her up' comment.

Now she was all grins and smiles. She spun with the twirlers getting tangled in their long skirts. She ran with the little kids weaving in and out of the crowds letting them paint her arms with smiley faces and a rainbow on one cheek and a heart on the other. She seemed completely cheered up from her earlier sullen mood, jingling the bracelets she had bought on her wrist and twirling the long scarf like cloth tied at her waist.

She was so full of life and happiness I found myself standing in the crowds simply watching her move. Her long hair fell from its earlier ponytail down her shoulders almost to her waist.

She swayed and moved to the loud music a few musicians were playing and I found something I wouldn't dare admit aloud. I wanted to be close to her, letting myself absorb any and maybe all of the warm happiness she had rolling off her onto me. I wanted to let her happiness affect me the way she affected these strangers in the park.

Rose made one of her sweeping turns searching the crowd for me. When she finally spotted me she pulled her crooked smile into a full out grin. As if reading my mind and reading the expression on my face from my earlier thoughts she maneuvered swiftly through the other dancing people and the crowd around watching to reach me.

"Come on!" she urged tugging at my hand.

I resisted not really liking the spotlight but she was pretty strong and persistent for such a short person. It must've been that same stubbornness I saw in her expression last night and that her father warned me about.

She pulled me into the mass of people and now it seemed everyone was moving and dancing. Rose grabbed my other hand with her small soft and smooth one, different from my calloused hard fingers, and held out clasped hands behind her back pressing her chest against my own.

I felt the blood rush to my face at how close she was and I stiffened as she moved against me.

"So muscleman, was I right when I guessed that you were party animal last night?" she asked.

I somehow managed to find my voice and tried to smile.

"Not exactly. The last time I danced I was with Paul when he decided I as his partner to do the hokey pokey," I admitted.

She laughed, the vibrations moving her chest against my own. I fought the urge to pull away from being so close and in public. I didn't exactly want to pull away it was just instinct, how I naturally reacted.

"Were you any good?" she asked curious.

"Paul didn't seem to think so. He never asked me to be his partner again."

She laughed at my pathetic tone.

"My mom said I was pretty good though," I added, remembering.

"I don't know if that's really sad and creepy or a little pathetically cute but mother does know best," she concluded. "Sometimes," she muttered. "The hokey pokey is similar to how we're dancing now," she pointed out.

Without realizing I was actually dancing. Nothing wild and crazy like she had accused me of but we were swaying to the music that had calmed a bit moving among all of the other couples around us. Rose released one of my hands and folded herself inward before spinning out and coming back toward me again.

"You're pretty good, muscles," she complimented.

I wasn't really doing anything. She was moving and swaying and I just happened to be standing so close that when she moved we moved together.

She looked around noticing all of the close couples dancing seemingly closer than we were, hugging and kissing and she started shifting away, uncomfortable.

We pulled apart both uncomfortable now and she backed away still holding my hand.

"Let's walk."

I nodded and followed behind her through the crowd.

We walked in silence simply trying to get out of the crowd of people she had attracted by dancing wildly. A few people even gave her compliments as we passed.

"What were they saying?" she asked once we were out of earshot and away from the crowd. We were taking one of the paths that led further into the park.

They had complimented her in Russian.

"They were saying how great of a dancer you were and…how great you were dancing," I translated.

"Why do you suddenly look so uncomfortable?" she asked fighting a smile.

"I cleaned up the compliment a bit," was all I said and she smiled nodding. A few of the compliments were dirtier than that but she didn't need to know that.

"Russian's such a difficult language," she complained letting her head fall back to the sky.

"It's not so difficult once you've been around it for a while," I told her. "You don't know any other language but English?"

"Mmm…just the Gaelic my mother speaks, the Turkish my father speaks, and a few profanities between the two languages. My mother says I speak a language of my own with the way I talk," she joked. "But I know enough Russian and few facial expressions to know what a few men back there were thinking."

"I don't even think you needed to know Russian to know what they were thinking."

She looked up at me with her wide eyes.

"You sound jealous, Muscles," she giggled.

I glanced down at her and looked away quickly.

"I just know how the men are around here and I saw how they were looking at you."

"If that was true you should be all over me by now," she said looking up at me, voice low and velvty.

I felt words building up and I had to fight the urge to respond with a snarky almost flirty remark. I reminded myself that this wasn't a date, or at least that's what I was trying to convince myself but Rose gave a light squeeze where she still held my hand and swung our clasped hands between us happily.

I wanted to be able to join in with whatever elation was coursing through her right now and just let go of my natural uneasiness and reluctance to get close and forget about my problems for a moment.

I couldn't.

I slipped my hand from hers and ran a hand through my hair. She glanced down at her now empty hand sadly but looked forward regaining her composure.

I felt I needed to tell her to point out this wasn't a date but it was obvious the moment my hand left hers.

Not feeling at all comfortable in the silence Rose spoke first.

"This was nice today. I needed this," she said walking toward the railing of the border that surrounded the lake. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"You're welcome. It…seemed like you needed an escape and I usually come here with one of my sisters when things are tense at home."

"Living with all of those girls in one house can't be easy," she laughed.

"No it is not." I could help smiling at all of the memories. "I think Victoria is the worst one but she's my favorite," I admitted. "Just don't tell anyone."

"You're secret's safe with me. Do you and Paul band together against the girls?"

"No, he's quick to abandon me when his mom comes home."

"He probably misses her because she works all day," Rose guessed. I had the same theory. "Where are…his dad and the father to your other sister's baby?" She was hesitant to ask thinking it was a touchy situation.

"Karolina and her boyfriend separated and he took off with some other girl but she's strong. She can handle it. She's always ready with a plan. Sonya on the other hand was more of a surprise. She's more of an act now and think later kind of person," I explained.

"So…you and Karolina are the serious, always ready for action ones and Victoria and Sonya are the wild ones?"

I nodded reluctantly. "I guess so."

Rose shook her head more in awe than disbelief.

"Wow. What about your dad?"

She seemed to be growing bolder with her questions. I felt my body tighten at the mention of him.

"He's…out of the picture."

She waited a moment expecting more but realizing that was all I was going to say she looked away out onto the lake.

"You're lucky. You have all of these people who love you all of the time and they're around you all of the time."

I glance at her confused. She sounded…jealous and a little sad as she had earlier.

"I'm sure your parents love you…despite whatever's going on."

"It's different," was all she said.

"Doesn't matter they still love you. My family is so close because we've had some hard times and we don't always get along but we always rely on each other with no help from my bastard of a father."

She turned to face me, surprised by my sudden mood change.

"You're family isn't any different from ours. All families have problems."

"I guess so," she muttered but she didn't really sound like she believed. "Was your dad that bad?"

"Worse," I muttered. I figured to prove my point I may as well tell her. "He wasn't exactly father of the year. Around Baia, in the low middle class houses, families usually do anything get money even relying on a man who only comes around for… certain favors. My father in particular was the worse," I muttered remembering.

She didn't anything more to be said to understand.

"I guess our families aren't so different after all," she murmured.

I turned to meet her gaze but she only stared out at the lake, staring her into the water like she hoped a wave would appear and sweep her away.

I was curious about what she meant, but I thought better of it. Going into any deep conversations would be a mistake and gave that same earlier impression that this was a date and that we were growing closer thereby leading to the awkwardness of me pulling away.

All of that could've been avoided.

She stepped away from the rail and faced me smiling.

"So, what do you want to do now?"

I glanced at my watch and saw what time it was.

"I…actually have to get back."

Her smile fade and all signs of previous happiness were gone. Her face fell disappointed like she wished we could stay longer.

I didn't want to disappoint. I was having fun too admittedly but I had to find out what was going on with Natasha and Ivan.

"Okay. Let's go…I guess," she mumbled walking a little ways ahead and then slowing so I she could walk beside me.

We walked in silence a bit on the way back, Rose still amused by all of the life and fun and music around her but not the same as before. This time when I caught a glimpse of her eyes they'd change. The color was still the same milky brown but deep down she was different than when I had first met her and after today.

I only saw a small young girl, or woman; I wasn't sure on her age, which needed someone.

After today it became more real and obvious I just couldn't be that someone.

I was sorry and a little proud that I managed to pull away from avoidable situations like this. I had made a promise not to let anything interfere with the pattern that was my life and I was sticking to it.

I just wasn't sure I wanted to.


	7. An Interesting Arrangement

I had expected the ride home to be as awkward as the quiet walk back through the park. Rose surprised me for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

As if nothing had happened, she skipped in front of me as the truck came into view, a hopeful look in her eyes.

"What?" I asked, curious as to what made her so happy-go-lucky all of a sudden.

"Do you love your car?"

The weirdness of the question caught me off guard.

"Um…I guess. I mean it's just a piece of metal that gets me where I need to go."

"Good answer."

I waited for her to say more but she simply stopped skipping directly in front of me, her hand out.

"Can I drive?"

I froze standing in front of her.

"Come on, I was patient with your slow driving up here. The least you can do is let me drive back."

I hesitated. For one thing, I don't drive slowly. I drive cautiously and after seeing the way Rose parked her father's car on her first day here I was a little tentative about handing the keys over. My truck was already old and barely holding on with what little mechanic abilities I have.

The last thing I needed was Rose plowing the car through the garage door.

I opened my mouth, ready to refuse but she spoke before I could.

"Abe hardly lets me drive as it is and until I turn eighteen I am a confined teenager who has to rely on her parents to drive her around or walk. Please," she pleaded clasping her hands together. She puckered her lower lip out and batted her eyelashes. "If you trust me with your dog, surely you can trust me with your car."

I didn't have much of a substantial argument so I handed her the keys. She bounced up and down, leaping to hug me. I stiffened a moment and before I could decide whether or not to return the hug she pulled away, leaping to the drive side door.

I climbed in and she started the truck, pulling out of the parking space before I could maneuver the seatbelt on.

"I honestly didn't think you'd let me drive," she said looking over at me.

I gestured for her to look forward and she shook her head smiling.

"I wasn't. I was thinking of how you backed your father's car into the garage."

She looked over at me, surprised.

"You saw that?"

"I was on the roof," I reminded her.

"Checking me out?" She asked playfully.

"Could you please keep your eyes on the road," I instructed.

"I can multitask," she reasoned swerving into the next lane with signaling. "And that wasn't my fault. My dad's car just has too much power."

"Or you just don't drive very well," I muttered.

She laughed pulling to a stop at a red light.

"I drive well enough to get you back to your next date on time."

For the first time I turned to look over at her in full. Her expression softened.

"Surprised I know?"

Maybe my mother was right about how gossip travels around here.

"It's not really a date," I admit hesitantly but even to myself I didn't sound so sure. Rose wasn't fooled. "How'd you know…that I'm meeting someone else?" I ask looking away out the window.

"Girl's intuition. No guy ends an...outting with a girl that looks like me unless there's a better offer," she muttered.

The comment sounded a little over confident but the softness of her voice made me turn away from the window and glance at her. She was staring straight ahead waiting for the light to turn. I took this as an opportunity to really look at her. I'd been around her a few times but I never really took the time to really look at her.

She took after her mother in height but the bold way she spoke made her seem so much taller. She had her father's dark hair. It was long and usually worn back, a preference I generally liked in women. Her eyes shifted colors, it seemed, depending on her mood but it was probably a trick of the light.

Despite that I had anticipated a snobby attitude from her, she seemed pretty mellow and down to earth. She dressed simply, casually in jeans and sweatshirts or zip up sweaters and tennis shoes. I was curious to see how'd she dress when I grew colder.

Her curves in general were eye catching. Women around here were often thick and curvy but everything seemed…fitting and proportionate on Rose. She was more grown up than I expected a seventeen year old to be.

More noticeably were her lips.

They looked perfectly curved and soft.

I admit it. Rose was beautiful.

Without my realizing it she had turned to look at me and pulled one side of her mouth up into a smile.

"See something you like?"

I shook my head in disbelief fighting a smile.

"Just drive."

* * *

I felt a little guilty about ending my...what was the word she had used?...outting with Rose to meet someone else.

_It's mostly business. Two friends catching up, _I tried to convince myself but even that was a lie. I was lying to myself alot lately.

Tasha was a little over dressed but then I remembered this was how she normally dressed in low cut blouses. She alternated between tight skirts and just as tight slacks. Victoria had called her wardrobe 'easy, sleazy'. I suppose tonight wasn't any exception.

She sat close beside me at the dinner table she'd set up on the patio of her apartment. Occasionally she'd brush her leg against my own or casually run her hand along my leg.

I'd forgotten how touchy feely she was and eager to get undressed.

I didn't hesitate bring up the conversation about Ivan and why they were working for Adrian Ivashkov. She had explained that he paid the most and it wasn't as bad as it seemed. There was a note in her voice, though, that told me it was worse than that. I didn't get too much out of her though because whenever I spoke, she'd lean in and kiss me, smothering whatever question I had.

"Really, Dimka, you should come with us. These low paying crappy jobs you're working now are holding you back. You could be doing so much more," she tried to reason, leaning against me.

"The money I earn is honest and takes care of my family."

"We're hardworking. What we do is honest...enough." She down her glass of wine. "You really should consider. I'll talk to Adrian about-"

"Don't Natasha."

"It'll be a jsut in case job. Just in case something were to happen to your job now or if you needed money suddenly or something..." she said, her words trailing off.

Before I could refuse again she pressed her lips against my own, tasting like the wine she just down. The smell of her perfume was overwhelming.

She broke the kiss first straightening, or actually, adjusting her blouse but her efforts only seemed to reveal more.

"So...you were with that neighbor girl again today."

She raised a brow pouring herself more wine.

"How did you...?"

This town must've been growing smaller and smaller with the way word traveles around here.

"Your sister was kind enough to tell me when I called today to make sure our date was still on."

"Ah," I said simply sipping from my own glass.

Tasha waited expecting more.

"Should I be worried you've found a temporary replacement for pleasure when I'm not around?"

I glanced at her with what I hoped was a confused expression. Tasha knew me well enough to know I wouldn't use someone like that.

"Rose and I are friends."

"Defensive. Sounds like you like her."

"You and I are friends," I reasoned.

"And look what's happened," she said gesturing between us. "I'm just saying Dimka. You can waist your time on girls who don't know what they're getting themselves into or you can have what's already ready and willing in front of you," she offered.

I realized I stiffened at the way she refered to Rose and tried to relax. Tasha was just a little possessive but she was still the friend I'd known since high school. Although it seemed people were changing around here.

Rose and I were friends. I'd meant to say this aloud but I'd done enough lying for today.

* * *

I left Tasha, saying I had to get up early for work tomorrow, before she could seduce me into her bed like she did everytime she came back to Baia. Before, I didn't mind as much but something had changed.

Things were different now.

I told myself it was just that I wanted to stay focused on work but somewhere deep inside me I knew this was only partially true.

When I got home, everyone was already asleep. I climbed to my room shutting the door behind me and settling myself on the bed. Pepper, who had managed to make himself comfortable on the edge of my bed, perked up when I switched the bedside lamp on and I noticed a note tucked into his collar.

In quick scribble it read:

_"I thought you could use Pepepr to get some sleep tonight. It worked for me. Thanks again for today!"_

Even without the nicely printed Rose at the end of the note I think I'd be able to tell it was Rose's writing. Even on paper she seemed happy an delated. Today it seemed force though and I couldnt bring myself to ask her what was wrong.

I wrote it off as maybe a girl mood as so often happened with the other women in this house and I dressed for bed and fell asleep.

* * *

I didn't sleep for very long though. I could here doors slamming from next door. I laid in my bed for a while hoping whatever the noise was would stop until there was the sound of glass shattering.

I climbed out of bed and walked to the window that was angled in the direction of the Mazur house.

All of the lights were on.

Every so often a figure would run by and I could hear voices shouting but I couldn't make out words or who was yelling.

After a while there was a final door slam and the lights slowly went off room by room except for one.

* * *

"What're you doing home so early?" My mother asked me the next morning.

"The job I went to work on didn't take as long as I had anticipated."

She nodded, propping her feet up on the porch railing staring out.

"Don't tell me construction jobs are starting to fade," she muttered

I shook my head, wanting to say for sure that my job was safe. " I honestly don't know, Mama," I told her rubbing my chin. "Maybe Rose was wrong about our jobs always being necessary," I suggested.

My mother laughed briefly and then her expresison turned grave.

"Speaking of Rose, was everything okay when you two went out on that date yesterday?"

I didn't bother telling her it wasn't a date. I wasn't even sure anymore.

"I guess so. Why?"

"Because it's so weird. Usually it's pretty quiet around here since the Mazurs have moved in but all I heard was yelling all morning long and last night too."

"Families argue," I reasoned.

"Not like they did. It sounded pretty loud and I was upstairs and I heard them."

"Rose is the only daughter, a teenage girl. The only difference between Rose and Victoria, Karolina, and Sonya when they were teenagers is that they had each other to yell at."

I was saying it but I didn't believe it myself. There was something going on with the Mazurs, I could feel it.

"I guess so. I'm just worried. Maybe you could go over and ask Rose to go someplace again. Maybe she needs some time away so that things can settle."

"I don't think it's our place to interfere."

I was just as curiously worried though.

My mother shot me one of those motherly looks. She knew I cared as much as she did despite how much I kept telling myself I didn't.

"You like her and you're just as worried as I am," she siad aloud.

"She's just...different. Easy to talk to," I found myself saying.

My mother brightened a bit but didn't say anything.

"We'll just wait and see what happens. If there's anymore arguing, I'll go over," I agreed.

We sat in comfortable silence for a few moments, listening.

It didn't take long. There was the sound of a door slamming and running downstairs.

My mother eyed me and I immediately stood and walked over to the Mazur house. I found myself hoping that in all of this arguing that no part of th enice house I had built was ruined.

I knocked on the door. Rose was the one who anwsered.

She looked out of breath and discheveled. She was still wearing her pajamas.

"Dimitri," she breathed.

She stepepd out of the house a bit, closing the door behind her.

"Hey, I just came to see if...if everything was okay."

The slight expression of relief she'd been wearing faded and a light blush painted her tanned cheeks.

"Y-you heard?" She asked, adjusting the sweater she was wearing over her pajama top.

I nodded.

"So is everything okay?" I asked hesitantly.

She opened her mouth to speak but the door opeend wider behind her. I wondered what she was going to say as her mother stepped from behind her.

"Rose who is it?"

Rose stepped aside and a frazzled looking Janine stood beside her.

"Oh Dimitri, how are you?" The question and the niceness seemed forced like I interrupted something.

"I'm good. I just came to see Rose."

Rose stood as far from her mother as possible, her arms crossed defiantly over her chest like she was trying to protect herself.

"Oh?" Janined asked, curious. "You saw her yesterday didn't you?"

I wasn't aware that there was a limit to how many times I could see someone.

"Yeah...I just wanted to make sure everything was alright over here. My mother and I heard... arguing and she was worried."

Janine nodded, leaning out of the door to wave to my mother standing on the porch. My mother, always the nice woman that she is, returned the wave, smiling.

"Well everythign is okay. This is what happens when you're at home with a teenage girl all day. Especially homeschooling her," Janined laughed hesitantly. All of her smiles and laughter were over eager and forced.

She moved to put a hand on Rose shoulder but Rose shifted away.

"I understand," I lied.

"Well it was nice of you to visit."

"Wait, mom," Rose said perking up. She leaned up off of the wall and smiled gesturing to me. "You were complaining that you needed someone to help out around the house to build those shelves and things that you wanted. Dimitri actually built the house. He'd make the perfect handyman," she proposed.

Janined froze. She glance at her daughter squinting her eyes like she suspected an underlying reason behind her daughter's proposal.

She turned to me smiling.

"I'm sure Dimitri has better things to do-"

"Actually it's kind of my job to build and fix," I interrupted.

"He's perfect," Rose grinned a little bit too excitedly.

"You know your father wants to start doing these at home projects himself," Janine said through gritted teeth.

"This would give him more time to campaign, mother," Rose pushed, pressing on the subject.

Janine sighed, glancing at her daughter questioningly.

"Are you interested, Dimitri? The job pays well." She sounded resigned and defeated.

"Sure. I could use whatever work I can find."

"Alright, you're hired."

Rose clapped excitedly and pushed past her mother itno the house, winking at me as she went.

"You can start this afternoon if that's alright."

"Sure, I'll come back after lunch."

Janine nodded and moved back into the house.

I walked off of the Mazur porch toward my own house confused as to what just happened.

This was going to be interesting.


	8. Unsettled

"You can start in here," Janine directed, her voice solemn.

She gestured to a large downstairs room that I had created as a den. With the simple black, white and gray furniture, the room looked nothing like how I had imagined it. It looked like a façade, a show room that people passed through but never permanently settled in. Looking around as she had guided me through a few main rooms in the house, the entire interior of the house seemed and felt temporary, as if at any moment they Mazurs would be ready to leave.

She motioned to the bare part of a wall opposite the wide window that faced out toward our house.

"I was hoping to have a few shelves placed here," she sighed.

Her entire demeanor seemed reluctant and slow, as if hiring me had placed a great burden on her shoulders. I've never been someone to stay where I'm not wanted but something about this house, about the people in it, one in particular, kept me from simply walking out and leaving.

I waited for her to give me more details on what she wanted but she simply stood there for a moment watching me as I measured the length of the wall. She tucked a few of her bright curls behind her ears and folded her arms over her chest; a stance similar to the one Rose often took when she was defiant or upset about something.

I didn't have to wait long for her to speak.

"What are your intentions with my daughter?"

I suppose Rose not only acquired her mother's defensive stance but also her directness when it came to asking questions.

The tape measure I'd been using snapped back narrowly avoiding my finger.

"Excuse me?"

I was surprised by the question by the question but I was ready to give her the same answer I seemed to be using a lot lately.

"Mr. Mazur and I have made arrangements for out daughter. Plans have been made regarding her future and it would be a great compromise to those plans if you were to intervene."

"Rose and I are…friends." I had been ready to simply say that we were neighbors but that might have been pushing the lie too far.

Janine cocked her head to the side and squinted questioningly.

"You don't sound so sure. You probably believe that as much as I do."  
"I _believe _in simply doing my job, getting my work done and leaving without any problems."

This was usually true but in this particular situation, this was different.

No, I didn't want any problems. I wasn't looking for any. I wanted to know Rose was okay but every fiber of my being was telling me that she wasn't. Even my mother sensed it.

Something was wrong here.

I she exhaled heavily through her nose, nodded slightly and turned on her heel and left. I listened to the heels of her boots against the hardwood floors until they faded further into the house before starting.

I guess the details were left to me.

I figured I'd keep it simple, like the rest of the furniture, and I started building.

I wasn't sure if she believed me or not.

_I_ wasn't even sure _I _believe me or not.

Was it only Janine Mazur that felt this way or did she voice her husband's concerns as well? Was there a fondness between Rose and I that everyone else seemed to see?

I had so many of these questions running through my head repeating themselves and I didn't really have answers to any of them.

The only thing for certain were my gut instincts telling me something just wasn't right here and that I should stick around to figure out what it was.

* * *

At some point during the initial beginning building process of measuring, marking, and chopping Rose had settled herself on the steps that led down into the den. I noticed her after a while of measuring a long piece of plywood I had brought with me to fit onto the space of the wall and I turned and saw her.

She sat at the top of the steps, resting her elbows on her knees and holding her face in her hands. She smiled the crooked smiled she always seemed to casually wear when she saw me.

"How long have you been there?" I asked lifting a long piece of wood onto the makeshift table I made.

"Long enough to know that you like to hum eighties songs while you work," she teased.

I ignored that adjusting the wood piece. I didn't hum while I work. I'm quiet. I like the silence.

"So what'd Old Angry Lady Red ask you to build?" she asked standing and circling the wooden platforms that were holding up the piece I was about to saw off.

"Is that how you refer to your mother?"

"Not to her face. Not yet any way," she added as an after thought.

I didn't bother questioning. My sisters used to come up with weird names for mom when they were Rose's age. At some point my mother was referred to by a similar name to the one Rose apparently used for her mother. Old Olena. The Big Olena. Lady Olena of Oldness.

My sisters weren't very creative.

"She wants a shelf in here, for starters anyway."

"Starting you off easy. I thought she would've asked you to build that backhouse she was hoping for first."

I started sawing at the wood as Rose spoke.

"Abe says he needs some more room or storage space for his work or whatever," she elaborated. "He would've done it himself except he's rich and prefers to pay people to do it despite what my mother would want you to believe. I'm sure he'd want you over anyone else working for him though."

I wasn't sure what to say to that so continued working, glancing up at her periodically and then curiosity got the better of me.

"So why'd you hire me?" I asked. I stopped working for a second directly looking at her but she'd turned away moving about the wide den staring out at the window toward my house. "Or I guess I'm asking, why'd you convince your mother to hire me?"

"You make it sound like I have some ulterior motive or something," she says coyly, glancing over her shoulder with a slight smile.

"Do you?" I press.

She walked away from the window and stood close in front of me. So close I can feel heat rolling off her in waves.

"Maybe I just like having you around," she whispered looking up at me locking her eyes with mine.

Those eyes that I had noticed changed so often before were a light brown the way the sunlight poured in through the window and illumined them.

"Why'd you take the job if you're so suspicious?" She asked sounding amused.

I couldn't come out and tell her that it was partly because I had questionable worries about her. Could I?

"The money, obivously," I lied easily.

"Okay, I'll buy that. But... maybe you like being near me to," she said uncertainly, sounding hopeful almost.

It took a moment for me to shake myself from the daze we were locked in and step back.

I didn't lie earlier when I had told her mother that I took my work seriously. I had been raised me with morals and that included staying away from anyone that interfered with any money I was bringing in despite the fact that part of the reason I took this job was out of curiosity to see what was going on.

I looked away from her and focused on saw away at the wood pieces.

My sudden shift in mood didn't seem to faze her. She walked to the opposite side of the wood I was sawing away at like a mad man.

"So is this the same wood you hit me with?"

I glanced up at her ignoring that comment.

"It's a few pieces of spare wood I had left over from when I built this place."

"You did a good job," she complimented. "Fireplace in the bedrooms was a nice touch."

I nodded my thanks.

She lifted one of the corner wood pieces up examining it. She turned it left and right her long hair falling from her shoulders each time she moved. I noticed this was the first time I'd seen it completely worn down. It gave her a softer relaxed look of an innocent girl framing her face completely.

At one point she shifted so much that the long weird shade of purple sweater she was wearing slipped from her shoulder and her bare skin was exposed. I caught a glimpse of a light bruise on her shoulder before she moved again and her skin was covered.

I decided to take full advantage of the sudden lack of conversation.

"If I were to ask you something would you be completely honest in your answer?" I asked, complete seriousness in my voice.

She looked away from her piece of wood and met my gaze; the usual amusement she wore was completely gone.

"That depends I guess."

I had the impression that she knew what I was getting at. If she did she didn't say anything. She gently laid the wood back down.

"Is everything okay with you? Here at home I mean," I ask in a low whisper listening for footsteps if Janine was suddenly coming near.

She stared so long and hard down at the wood I thought it might burst into flames from the intensity of her gaze. She gave me a fleeting look. It was barely a glance but it was enough. Her eyes filled with only sadness… and fear.

It was still a long moment before she answered aloud, any signs of the motion I'd just seen entirely gone. She wore a blank mask similar to the one I often put up when people we were around and shrugged.

"I'm…taken care of."

A simple four-word sentence that held more meaning that it appeared.

"The arguing, the bruise on your shoulder is telling me something else."

A fleeting look, holding those same emotions as before appeared briefly and her eyes glistened with wetness but she quickly blinked away at them hastily as the click clack of Janine's boots sounded against the hardwood floor coming toward us.

She appeared a moment later, her earlier unsettling appearance replaced by an unexpectedly calm, collected, and politely casual one.

I thought about pressing on with or without Janine in the room, wondering if she meant for me to catch whatever hidden message there was in her words. I decided against it with a quick look from Rose.

"How's it going? You're not distracting our newly hired hand are you Rosie?" She asked wearing the forced happy smile and laying a hand on Rose's shoulder.

Rose flinched at her touch. I realized it was the same shoulder the bruise was on. I wondered if Janine knew that and she was doing it on purpose. Did she somehow hear our brief conversation before?

Rose shifted uncomfortably from under her hand.

"Just talking," she muttered turning away.

"Well I think we should let Dimitri continue his work don't you?"

Rose nodded and hurried from the room shooting me one last glance, the sadness and fear filling her eyes so much that they darkened, and left the room.

Janine gave me a warning glare leaving behind her daughter.

What a hell of a way to start a new job.


	9. In The Middle

"You should introduce us," Tasha suggested.

There was an unmistakable note of forced sincerity in her voice. She busied herself by fidgeting with the sleeve of my shirt and simultaneously taking a drink from a cup of hot chocolate I'd given her.

She winced and slammed the cup back down on the table.

"Hot chocolate? Really? I thought you invited me for tea," she said using a handkerchief she pulled from some unknown source.

I didn't bother pointing out that I didn't actually invite her anywhere or that she actually picked me up unexpectedly and talked me into going out for tea in the city

"I hate that stuff," she muttered flagging the waiter down and ordering tea.

"Why?"

"It taste chalky."

"No I mean why do you want to meet Rose all of a sudden?"

She sipped her tea, satisfied, and looked up at me surprised.

"Well, it seems you two have become very close over the last couple of weeks especially since you've been working for her."

"I've told you, we're just-"

"Friends, yes, yes and I as your friend with benefits would love to meet another one of your friends," she said brazenly brushing against my shoulder.

I didn't really know what to say.

Rose and I only spoke when she followed me around the house while I fixed things up which was often enough since any work I had in the city seemed to be declining and slowly disappearing altogether.

It was nothing special between us. In fact we had long conversations that consisted of mostly of her pestering me to teach her a few choice words in Russian and me refusing. I thought she already cursed too much for a seventeen year old. The conversation only had so many awkward pauses between changes of subjects because of Rose.

I had the vague feeling she was avoiding talking about one topic in particular.

We traded small facts about ourselves, what we liked and what we didn't like but whenever it got too close to home for Rose she'd stop talking entirely and would either change the topic to weather or she'd just leave.

Somewhere in the middle of all of this there were those moments when there was definite flirting. It wasn't the playful, sexual tension that Tasha seemed to sense whenever we were around each other. It was more about being comfortable around one another and just liking someone's company, someone to talk to.

The only thing that seemed to be holding Rose back from officially asking me for a date was the one thing she didn't want to talk about: the yelling I heard coming from her house mostly at night, the sound of glass breaking and furniture being thrown. The next ay when I'd come over for work I'd find bits of broken furniture and spotted a bruise on Rose's arm once or twice.

The two things preventing me from asking Rose out, and yes this meant I had become so fond and close to her that I thought about actually being around her, were her parents.

"Earth to Dimka," Tasha was saying waving a hand in front of my face.

"Sorry…I was…thinking," I muttered downing my hot chocolate.

"About your girlfriend?" She said it jokingly but I caught the underlying serious tone in her voice. "So when I can I meet her?"

Yeva must've recently done one of her good luck spell ceremonies because at that moment, since I was at a loss for a response, Tasha's phone rang. She stood and excused herself from answering it.

_Thank goodness. _

I took the moment of reprieve from the conversation that could only grow worse and I leaned back in my chair and relaxed. It was starting to get colder here. Sonya predicted that it would start snowing within the week.

The city was at its busiest though with elections in less than a week. Families were scattering to get home before dark. At night was when the trouble started. The gangs and mob leaders started sending their men to "negotiate" with certain government officials to influence people to vote for the candidate that they supported.

From what I heard, Abe Mazur was suddenly growing more and more popular with the crowds and most other running politicians were fading from the spotlight. Adrian Ivashkov was second in the popularity rating.

Natasha said that it didn't really matter whether he won or lost because he had back up plans.

"Arrangements have been made."

Her words had left an eerie feeling. They echoed exactly what Janine had said to me on my first day working.

Thinking of Tasha, I looked around, wondering where she had walked. I spotted her across the street talking to Ivan. When he spotted me he waved, gave Tasha a few last words and then walked off, disappearing into the crowds. I saw as Tasha tucked something into her purse that he handed her and made her way toward me again.

"What was that about?" I asked as she sat herself down.

"Oh I just have a few last minute…details to take care of before the party tonight."

The politicians were going to gather at a party that was thrown in their honor, by their supporters, tonight and give a few closing speeches. With all of the supporters and those against certain political figures, it was going to be the worst place to be tonight.

"So about the Rose thing," she pressed.

"She'll be at the party tonight. Introduce yourself."

That seemed like a safe enough response.

She eyed me questioningly and nodded. "Alright. Are you sure you want the tow of use talking though? Maybe you want to came as my date to make sure I'm well behaved."

It was subtle way of asking me to escort her.

"I have a few things to do. Besides, I have nothing to hide," I said wiping whatever hot chocolate might be around my mouth and standing. "I'll see you later. Have fun tonight."

"It should be…interesting," she said as I made my way out of the shop.

I was halfway down the street still wondering what she meant.

* * *

"Male's point of view, what do you think Dimitri?"

Rose stood on the last step of the stairs and turned slowly in the long silver gown she was wearing. It was sequenced in intricate patters on the body of the dress and her bare shoulders, flawless of any bruises, glittered.

"You look beautiful Roza," I complimented.

She stopped twirling and cocked her head to the side quizzacally.

"Roza? You've been calling me that a lot lately."

"It's your name in Russian."

She thought about it for a second and nodded.

"I like it. It suits me. It's nice, short and beautiful just like me," she grinned. I couldn't fight the smile that was growing by the second.

"It is," I agreed.

We stood in a long stare for a moment watching each other. The sound of her mother's shoes broke the moment and focused on hanging the fifth shelf I'd built on the wall.

"Hair down, Rose," Janine instrusted.

"I like it up," Rose said looking at her reflection in a mirror hanging by the stairs.

"Husbands want their wives to be and look feminate, not business l ike," Janine told her tugging Rose's hair tie loose from its high bun.

It fell in long waves past her shoulders down to her waist.

She truly looked like a princess but her mother was trying to pass her off as a potential bride.

"Do I still look beautiful?" She asked, spotting me looking at her.

I caught a not so subtle glimpse from Janine and nodded, not replying aloud.

Janine said soemthing to Rose in Gaelic and Rose made a disgusted face as her mother fidgted with her hair.

"He's not my _stócach_," Rose said echoing one of the words her mother used.

Janine rolled her eyes and marched up stairs muttering something to Rose in Gaelic again. Rose walked off of the stairs, carefully lifting her dress. She glanced up the stairs her mother had just climbed and stood close inf ront of me.

"What're you doing tonight Dimitri?"

It was one of those rare occasions that she was completely serious.

"Why?" I asked curious. "What's wrong?"

At moments like this I thought she might break down and finally let me in on what was going on between her and her family.

"I think my parents are planning on showing me off like a new car to whatever guys wants me as their wife. If you come along it'll make me feel sooo much better and might even put some of he guys off. Will you come?"

She sounded so small, fragile and innocent, I forgot about my earlier refusal to go with Natasha and agreed.

"All right. I don't htink your parents will-"

"I'll just say I need a friend to come along and support me and conveniently, that's you."

Before I could say anymore she wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug and kissed me on the cheek.

"Go and get ready and we'll meet you out front," she said before rushing upstairs, presumably to tell her mother of the change of plans.

I stood for a moment, confused by what just happened

* * *

"You're going where?" Victoria asked tossing me one of my very few dark dress shirts.

I buttoned it up over one of my dark t-shirts and pulled my hair, damp from the quick shower I'd taken.

"Mom's going to kill you if she knew."

"Then don't tell her. I'm only going to help Rose."

Victoria plopped down on my bed exaggeratedly.

"Rose, Rose, Rose! You really like her don't you?"

It was a direct question and for the first time I gave her a direct anwser. "Yes, I do but I'm helping her as a friend."

"What do I tell mom?"

"You don't have to tell her anything. I'm twenty-four years old Victoria. I can take care of myself."

Victoria sat up and nodded running a hand through the curls in her hair.

"All right. But if she directly asks me where you are, I'm not going to lie. I'm not going to risk the rath of one of Yeva's lying curses."

* * *

Abe Mazur seemed to believe Rose's story about me going along as a friend more than Janine. In fact he seemed happy I was going along.

Janine sat in the front seat quietly annoyed.

I exhaled and tried to relax. I always tried to keep myself out of any trouble and away from whatever shady businees that was going on in the city and here I was right in the middle of it all.


	10. Annoucement

I suddenly felt warmth over my hand and I looked down. Rose's hand was over my own. I met her eyes in the brief flashes of light from the streetlights and they reassured me not to worry.

I returned the gesture squeezing her hand in return and I actually think she may have blushed but she turned away toward the window, before I could tell, still holding my hand.

When we finally made it to the large downtown building that was holding the party, I was a little surprised. The hall was decorated in mostly white and black, long hallways with arched doors leading out onto the patio that led out to the river. There were large banners indicating a certain side of the room dedicated to a certain politician. There wasn't anything separating the politicians but it obvious by the way people stood in clusters to one side of the room.

The tensions inside the actually banquet hall was more relaxed than I had anticipated. I could hardly hear the music over all of the voices chattering away.

I spotted Adrian Ivashkov's banner and Ivan waved, spotting me.

He pushed his way through the crowd and stood before the Mazurs and I.

"Came to support the Mazurs huh? I can't really blame you since they're better looking than the Ivashkov's clan," Ivan says. He extends his hand out toward Abe and kisses the backs of Janine and Rose's hands.

Janine blushes and is surprisingly flustered by the gesture and mumbles a greeting much to Abe's amusement.

Rose squirms a bit and nestles herself closer to me.

"Supporter of Ivashkov?" Abe asked even though it was obvious by the bright green button on Ivan's shirt. "Is he here already?"

"Not yet but soon. He likes to make his entrance. In all honesty I'm mostly a supporter because he's an old friend and it's a returned favor."

"Yes, Mr. Ivashkov and myself have a…similar arrangement."

"Really?" Ivan asked sounding genuinely surprised but there was a look in his eyes that told me that this wasn't news to him.

Abe gave a leering look with a similar slight smile that Rose always wore, a knowing smile and said, "Yes. You'll all hear about it later tonight. If you would all excuse us, we have to go and mingle a bit. We'll meet you two at the table. Dimitri, keep a watchful eye on my daughter."

The last sentence was directed at me but he was looking at Rose. She suddenly seemed so small and fragile under his gaze but she nodded to whatever silent message her was conveying to her and he and his wife left into the crowd.

There's a brief moment as we watch them loose themselves into the crowd and Rose seems lost in thought. I give her hand a light squeeze and she shakes herself out of her reverie and looks up at me with a forced smile trying to reassure me that she's okay.

She can tell by the look on my face that I'm not buying it.

She looks between Ivan and I and says, "I'm…going to get some air," and excuses herself. She's quickly lost in the throng of people.

"Natasha told me she was hoping you were going to escort her," Ivan says once Rose is out of earshot.

"She asked but...Rose needed really needed me."

"Really?" he says surprised. I can tell by the tone of his voice he suspects something. "Can't blame you, man. I' ditch Tasha too if the Mazur girl was a better option."

"I can't imagine the daughter of Mazur being so easy."

"She's not. Not that I've tried!" I correct flustered.

"Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight. Listen, normally I'd be on you like white on rice to go for it with Rose but my advice right now: keep your paws off."

"Why the change of heart all of a sudden? Are you pining away for her?" I ask half joking.

"Just…trust me. After tonight, you don't want to be involved in what's going on here. Unless you still need that job," he ads grinning patting me on the shoulder as he passes.

I shake my head disappointedly and maneuver myself through the crowd searching for Rose. I catch the sparkling glitter out of my peripheral coming from outside and I finally see her.

"The party's too much for you already?"

She smiles over her shoulder, realizing it's only me, and hooks her arm through my own pulling me to stand beside her.

"I hate these benefit dinner things. It's full of a bunch of crap liars trying to be something they're not," she ranted. She glances at me apologetically. "Sorry. I just wish I wasn't here."

"Where would you rather be? Any place in the world."

She thinks for a moment to herself and smiles.

"Doesn't matter so long as you're there."

I pause, unsure of what to say. She does this a lot. She'll say something telling me how much she likes me and then she waits expecting a reply.

This time it's different though.

"I feel the same way," I murmur. She looks up at me, her eyes full of light.

With the heels she's wearing she's only an inch or two shorter than me, making it easy for her to lean against my shoulder.

"Russia's nice but I like Costa Rica this time of year. The best time is at sunset, on the beach looking out at the ocean with barely anyone around."

"I can imagine."

"Hawaii sounds pretty good right now too. I think I'd even go for Chuck-E-Cheese right now," she giggled.

"I…don't know what that is but it sounds like fun," I say carefully. We stand watching the moons reflecting on the lake. I'm trying not to ignore the roar of all of the noise from inside by listening to the soft pattern of Rose's breathing. She's so close I can even feel the gentle beating of her heart as she lean against me.

For that brief moment I feel so calm and comfortable I muster up the courage to ask her what's been bothering me for the last few weeks.

"Rose," I say so suddenly she nearly jumps.

"Hmm?"

"Are you ever going to tell me?"

It's such a broad question and it takes so long for her to reply I worry that I might have to be more specific. She stiffens beside me though and sighs heavily. She knows what I'm talking about.

"No."

"Rose I'm just worried about you. I…care about you."

I'm not one to really to be open and honest with my feelings but given the circumstances and the fact that I feel comfortable around Rose I just tell her what I'm feeling and what's on my mind.

"I care about you too Dimitri which is why…it's better if I keep these things to myself."

I lean up from where I'm resting against the rail of the patio and unhook Rose's arm from my own. I move so that her back is against the rail and I'm blocking her from anyone's view. I hold her by her bare arms and meet her eyes directly.

The wind blows her hair into her face and I tuck it gently behind her ear.

"I can help if you'll just let me. I don't want to see anything bad happen to you when I could've done something to prevent it."

She opens her mouth to speak but there's the clinging of someone's utensil against glass. We turn to see what's happening and Janine's in the doorway.

"Come, Rose. The candidates are going to make their announcements."

Rose looked at me reassuringly, more for her benefit than my own, and moved past, grabbing my hand behind her and pulling me along.

We listened standing under the designated Mazur area to long speeches basically repeating the same crap about 'making Baia a better place' and ironically 'clearing the streets of crime' when most of the crime was their doing.

Abe was second to last to speak.

He stood at the podium in his dark suit but bright red tied and stroked his ever-growing beard. He gave a brief speech about thanking Russia for welcoming him and his family with open arms and all of his supporters.

"I'm more than capable of clearing the streets and my best qualities are soon to come to light when I am elected as mayor," he was saying. There was a level of cockiness in his speech but the crowd seemed to love it. Even people supporting other politicians were smiling. "I know the secret to gaining control of the trouble that has befallen this small town that I've come to know as home."

"And what's that?" Someone from the crowd yelled.

He searched the crowd briefly to see who had spoken and then answered, "You'll have to vote for me to find out."

With that he gave a sweeping bow to the crowd as if his whole speech was a performance, which I guess it mostly was. He had even persuaded me a little to put aside my bitterness and starting voting.

Okay he wasn't _that_ persuasive but he knew how to work a crowd.

Before walking off stage he tapped the microphone to silence the crowds clapping.

"Now I'd like to introduce a close friend and a competitor of mine who is also running is this forever ongoing election: Adrian Ivashkov."

From somewhere in the sidelines of the stage Adrian Ivashkov appeared and walked slowing up the stairs to the podium, shaking Abe's hand in passing and sharing a few words with the older man before he himself walked off stage. Instead of returning to where Janine, Rose and I were standing he stood to the side of the stage talking to Ivan and a few other men.

Adrian was a tall slender man with hair and eyes so dark it was hard to meet his eyes. He was apart of one of the prominent families of Russia. He was a year or two younger than Ivan and I had been and I vaguely remember seeing him in school with his posse of bodyguards and girl groupies. Any girl would've done anything to be married off to Ivashkov.

As he stood at the podium the crowd was completely still, waiting. I had a feeling most of them were too awestruck to grasp that they were in the presence of the closest thing to royalty.

"I fear I need to apologize to the lovely crowd that gathered here this evening. I was supposed to come here with a prepared speech about why I'd be best for Baia but I came unprepared," he started.

There were a few words from the crowds telling him it was okay and they forgave him. I remembered Ivashkov could work a crowd similar to how Abe just did. No wonder they were friends.

He had held his head low as if ashamed and then straightened up; adjusting the dark tie he wore.

"I am more than capable of making an impromptu speech summarizing my qualifications."

And he did.

I wasn't sure if he understood the definition of impromptu though. He went on for what felt like half an hour before he stopped speaking and took the moment to clear his throat.

"Now, I've come here tonight to make somewhat of an…exciting announcement. I know that a few of the older gentlemen running the current government of Baia were concerned about such a young man being given so much power and especially that I'd get myself into some sort of scandal since I am unwed but I have some exciting news. I have recently become engaged."

The crowd, or the men in the crowd who were glad that Adrian would be off the market and stop taking their women, cheered. I wanted to warn them that a simple thing like marriage wouldn't stop Adrian from sleeping with their wives and girlfriends but I resisted the urge. There was somewhat of a collected sigh from the women but everyone clapped. There were even a few shouted congratulations.

"Now I'd like for you to meet my fiancé-"

"Oh no," Rose gasped. She turned to her mother, whipping her hand out of my own. "You didn't! How could you?"

Janine put on her formal smile and patted Rose's shoulder.

"It's all for the better," was what Janine muttered.

I stood confused by what was happening when suddenly it all came together a few seconds before Adrian said, "Rose, would you like to come up here and join me."

It was more of a statement than a question.

The crowd cheered and turned to look at Rose dead on. She froze like a deer caught in the headlights and I saw her arm extend toward me. I wanted to grab her hand and pull her away from here but her mother gave her a quick shove, ushering her forward, and the crowd pushed her the rest of the way.

"She's a bit stunned I can see," Adrian said into the microphone. "My Rose is a bit shy."

_My Rose? _Those two words seemed to echo in my head pushing all of my previous worries aside.

I could feel my blood boiling and my fist clench. Janine glance at me briefly and smiled moving through the crowd to stand with her husband.

I was left standing surrounded by a bunch of strangers under the banner that read Mazur Party.

This wasn't a party.

This was a nightmare.


	11. Realization

"Seems to me like your girl's found another man."

I turn and see Tasha standing suddenly beside me with a smirk on her face.

"Is she the reason you turned me down? The better offer," she asks quirking a brow.

I didn't really think or care enough to think of a reason I was here if I ran into Tasha. I didn't exactly blend in with my six foot five height. I decided, with my current mood, I'd tell her the truth. I'd been lying too much lately enough as it was.

"Rose asked me to be here because she needed me."

My words sounded more like a mantra I was repeating over and over again more for my benefit than hers.

"Clearly she needs you right now," Tasha said snidely.

Rose was on stage squirming uncomfortable away from Adrian but with a quick glance form her parents a few whispered words she stood still staring down at the crowd still clapping, cheering and yelling question up at Adrian. She looked as if she needed to disappear more than anything. I guess I knew what Ivan was talking about earlier.

"I'd still like to meet her."

"Why?"

"To give my congrats of course!" She said a little too forcibly.

"Why marry your opponent's daughter?" someone from the crowd, I think it was a reporter, asked.

Adrian gave a coy smirk as if it was a secret he was letting everyone in on and leaned into the microphone.

"All I can say is that with true love, a mere political competition could not keep my Rose and I apart," he chuckled as if embarrassed by making such a revelation.

There were those words again: _my Rose. _

I felt myself cringe; clenching my fingers so tight into my palm I may have drawn blood.

The crowd gave a collected 'aww' as if they were amused by young love. Adrian stepped back so that the reporters could take photos. He stepped toward Rose and casually draped an arm loosely around her waist.

From where I was standing, having a few emotional reactions of my own and muttering a few choice words in Russian, I could see her trembling. Whatever silent battle was going on in her head, whether or not to run seemed only obvious to me.

Her parents stood off to the side pride painted all over their faces.

I struggled to simply remain standing.

I'd never really felt like this before.

My heart was beating rapidly, blood was rushing in my ears drowning out whatever it was Tasha was saying beside me, and my stomach felt like it was dropping every ten seconds as if I was on a roller coaster.

In all honesty I still wasn't completely sure about my feelings for Rose. We came from two very different backgrounds but we had suddenly become so close. Talking to her felt so simple and I could relax and tell her anything that was on my mind. She had that affect me.

Until this moment, for the first time realizing there was someone else that could take whatever few small moments I share with her, moments I kept to myself and thought about later, I didn't realize how much I had started feeling for Rose. She meant something to me.

And whatever was going on here, I had to do something to stop it and help her.

After what felt like an eternity, Adrian signaled the reporters away and usher Rose to where her parents were standing. The stood off to the side talking for a moment Rose looking flustered. The three of them seemed amused by her reaction.

"You look like you contemplating murder," Natasha commented digging around in her small handbag that girls seemed to be able to fit anything into. "Didn't anticipate someone else sweeping your lover away from you, did you? Especial not the prince himself," she said snidely.

Somehow correcting her on the 'lover' comment didn't feel right and paled in comparison to what was going on. I spoke without taking my eyes from where the four were still standing.

"You knew about this?"

"Of course," she says as if it is the most obvious thing in t he world.

"And Ivan?"

"So naïve," she muttered. "Yes, him to. We were all in on it. You would have been too and spared any embarrassment on your part had you come with me tonight. The shame you must feel for fooling around with an engaged woman," she teased.

"I'm only ashamed of knowing you."

She feigned appall and pretended to balk at the comment but when I tore my eyes form where Rose was for a second as they made their way towards us again I thought I could see genuine hurt in her eyes by my words but it was more of her acting and a trick of the light.

"Everyone seemed to know Adrian and Rose were getting married except for Rose. What's really going on here? Why are they doing this?" I asked watching as they stopped by a few people who offered congratulations.

Rose, looking stunned, looked up and met my eyes for second, pleading but turned away with a touch on the shoulder by her mother and the arm at her waist that was Adrian's.

"If you were still my playmate I might be more inclined to let you in on a few trade secrets." It was more of a proposal, asking me to turn away from whatever she thought was going on between Rose and I and to do whatever she wanted like the way it used to be.

When I didn't answer she sighed dramatically.

"Dimka you're my friend but I could never reveal that kind of information without the consent of my employer," she said formally.

"If you were really a friend of mine you would've told me what was going on tonight."

"You've told me non-stop from day one that you and Rose were mere friends. You even said so earlier today when you turned me down, which I still can't believe by the way. Why should you be worried about anything concerning her love life?" she smirked.

She'd used my own lies against me.

She was right of course but that didn't mean I couldn't be angry. She'd made it so blatantly clear she thought Rose and I were more than friends. She could've told me.

The Mazurs and Adrian made it over to us and were all smiles except for one.

"It seems we've left the crowd abuzz with our little announcement," Abe says looking around, pleased with the crowd's excitement.

"It seems you have. Congratulations by the way," Natasha says extending a hand toward Rose. Rose lifts her arm gingerly like she too stunned to even blink and Natasha gives it a firm shake. "I'm Natasha and I'll be aiding you in preparing for your…nuptials."

Rose's hand went limp in Tasha's and she swallowed.

"She's just so stunned," Adrian, said putting a finger beneath her chin and lifting her face toward him.

She pulled away, or tried to, but his grasp at her waist was tight.

"Rose, honey, do relax. You'll have to grew used to this eventually," Abe said still taking in the crowd's reaction. In glancing around the room he finally noticed me.

"Aren't you going to congratulate my daughter, Dimitri?"

Before I could even come up with an appropriate, emphasis on appropriate, response Rose interrupted.

"How could you do this? I'm not marrying this bast-"

Adrian gently placed a hand over her mouth smothering her words.

"We'll talk about this later, dear. Now is not the time or place."

"Yes, Rose, don't make a scene," Janine ordered fanning herself as if this was just all too much.

"I think we've done all we can do here. Ready to go?" Abe asked quirking a brow. Janine nodded and Rose forced Adrian's hand away. The crowd was paying attention to a few performers on stage and had their backs toward us. Adrian moved to grab Rose's arm but I stepped forward blocking his hand.

I shifted, ready to throw a punch, something I hadn't done since high school but Adrian froze. I was at least four feet taller than him and we were in public. He probably didn't need this as apart of his campaigning.

"If we're going to make a scene then let's do this in the privacy of our own home away from the public eye, hmm? Shall we," Abe proposed. "We need to keep up appearances until the time is right."

Adrian nodded, indicating for Tasha, who was trying hard to fight a smile, to walk beside him ahead of Rose and I. Abe pulled Janine to walk beside him at front turning her warning glare away from Rose and me.

Rose gripped my hand pulling me back.

"Don't please, Dimitri," she whispered. She was afraid of what I was going to do. It took a lot for me to hold back and resist knocking the cocky smile Adrian was wearing off of his face.

We walked as far away from them as possible walking slowly out of the banquet hall. She swung our clasped hands between us lightly running a finger across the back of my hand. Somewhere between the moments she asked me to escort her and Adrian's announcement we grew closer than we had been by simply talking.

"I can't believe this is happening to me," she whispered.

Her touch was so soft against my calloused rough hands.

"I knew they want to try and set me up with someone eventually but I didn't think they'd marry me off."

"Why are they doing this? What's going on Rose?"

She sighed and ran a hand through her long hair a nervous habit I noticed.

"I don't know all of it but… my father made some arrangement with Adrian so that when my father wins, and he will win the election is rigged, he'll appoint Adrian to some big positions and share the money and power from whatever secret business Adrian runs. Part of the arrangement is that I marry Adrian. I just don't understand why they need me in this," she finished sounding frustrated like she'd thought about this so many times.

"Your parents said they wanted you to marry into a good family, probably to benefit them. Adrian is next to royalty around here."

"He's made that pretty clear the few times he's come to see me," she mumbled.

We were getting closer to the valet area where the cars were. Rose tightened her hand in my own as if they were going to separate us once we got in the car. I wouldn't let that happen. We were close now…more than I realized.

"I guess…now you know what I've been fighting at home. Well…part of it anyway."

"Part of it?" I asked curious.

Before we neared the cars where everyone else was standing she stopped me from walking.

"I…wanna tell you everything. I was going to tell you before but now that half of what was going on is out in the open I want to tell you everything."

I nodded massaging her hands in both of my own. She was shivering but I realized it was more form nerves than the cold.

"I don't wanna go home I just want to be away from them for a while," she murmured.

"It wouldn't surprise me if you told me you knew how to sneak out of the house," I say suddenly coming up with a plan.

Her face brightens a little but is still confused.

"I do," she says trailing off.

"There's a small opening from the fence I put up between our houses. Meet me in my backyard."

"Dimitri, you sexy devil you, asking me to your backyard," she teased, a bit of her old self coming back.

I managed a small smile and we walked the rest of the way to the car.

The trip back home seemed so much longer than the ride there. Nothing much was said

except for Abe's whistling. Adrian and Natasha followed behind us in his escalade.

Everything seemed to be swirling in my head like one large tornado. I tried to relax and just to breathe but it was hard fighting the urge to reach up and attack Abe and Janine letting the car turn over and Rose and I walking away with nothing but a few scratches.

I realized how far and dark my thoughts were becoming and looked at Rose to relax.

As if sensing my eyes on her she turned from the window and smiled tightening her grip in my hand for the hundredth time that night.

I'd never grow tired of that warmth or the feeling of just having some there.

We pulled into the house sometime past midnight and Abe indicated for me to stay and speak with the rest of them. Janine shot Rose a glare at our clasped hands and Rose defiantly moved closer beside me on the front lawn of their home. All of the lights to my house were off except for one. My mother most likely.

The four of us waited for Adrian to park and he and Natasha soon stood with us. I wondered why we just didn't go into the house and figured Abe and Janine thought of their home as a place away from any trouble that was brewing here.

Adrian stood with his hands in his pockets and a cigarette between his lips.

"Dimitri isn't it?" he asked puffing out a cloud of smoke.

"Ivashkov," I acknowledge.

"This is the guy you wanted me to hire?" he asks jokingly to Tasha.

"He has experience fighting, more than capable of physical work. Yes, I thought he might be good for you but now I'm not so sure."

"I guess it's good we didn't go all the way through with having his job terminated then since he tried to punch me," he says with a smirk on his face.

"To keep your dirty hands off Rose," I shot back.

Fully taking in his words I eyed Tasha who was appalled for a moment by what Adrian had just said. There was a reason I wasn't working so much lately and she was it. She interfered with what little money I was bringing for my family. Any remaining hopes I had that the girl I was once friends with was still in there somewhere completely disappeared then.

"I'm getting punched in the face for trying to communicate with my fiancé?" he asks making it sound as if I was the bad guy and he was Mr. Innocent.

"I will say one thing though. Tasha was right about you…physically. You'd make a great body guard."

He couldn't be serious.

"I was thinking the same thing. Alternate days of protecting us if we both hired him," Abe said.

I couldn't believe I was being considered for some lowlife job that I didn't even want at a time like this.

"Enough," Janine said raising a hand to silence her husbands next words and Adrian who shared a cigarette with the older man. "Excuse us Dimitri but this is a private matter and you have no part in it."

"Janine, clearly the boy is smitten with our daughter," Abe chuckles amused. "Whatever trivial romance that is playing out between the two will surely fade once the sparks die out," he says waving his hand dismissively.

"And if it doesn't?" Rose asks daringly.

"Then we'll end it for you." He sounds so serious and nothing like the nice man my family and I met on their first day here. How did everything go from so light, simple, and easy to so difficult, confusing, and dark?

Smitten? Rose looks up giving me a questioning look at the word.

Abe turned his dark eyes to me stomping out his cigarette.

"Perhaps we should give our daughter some voice in the matter. It's up to you dear. Would you prefer that Mr. Belikov stay?"

I expected her to say yes vehemently.

"No."

She looked up at me and gaze me a brief look, squeezing my hand once before letting go.

The squeeze was a reminder.

We'd talk later.

I wanted to stay, to be here if she needed me to, and out of curiosity but I respected Rose more than her parents seemed to. I gave one last warning glance to Adrian and Natasha.

"Mr. Belikov, do keep your hands off of my fiancé," Adrian warned smiling before turning to go inside the Mazur home.

Rose was the last to go in. She looked back at me with another reminding and reassuring glance in her light brown eyes before going inside.


	12. The Long Night Continues

This had become the longest night of my life.

I sat on the back steps of our backyard that led out into the woods watching as the moon shifted slowly across the sky.

"Dimka? Still Up?" My mother asked stepping outside.

I nodded silently without looking back. She settled herself beside me.

"I'm guessing tonight didn't go as planned."

"Victoria told you where I was?" I guessed.

"Of course," she said as if it was supposed to be obvious. "So what happened tonight?"

I sighed quickly replaying the night's events through my head.

"To simply sum it all up: speeches were given, a proposal was made, Rose's parents are evil, I almost punched Ivashkov and now I'm waiting for Rose."

My mother nodded slowly trying to figure out how this all fit together exactly and then shook her head probably still a bit confused. I couldn't blame her. I was there tonight and I was still a little confused.

"So were we right. Are they hitting her?"

"That's what I'm waiting out here for. She said she wanted to talk, to tell me everything."

"My son. Dimitri Alexander Belikov falling in love with the girl next door," she smiled.

"I think you're going overboard. I just…care about her," I said choosing my words carefully.

"It wont be soon before long," she sang in a singsong voice.

"Mom, I'm not even sure what's going on," I admitted a little winded by thinking about it all. My life had been full of money woes and family issues but I'd never describe it as difficult or confusing until now.

"A mother knows. Not to mention a bit of woman's instinct."

I fought a smile, turning away to stare across the grass. Pepper trotted out of the trees doing whatever it is he does on his own and laid himself at my feet.

"You don't believe me?" She asked sounding amused.

"No."

"What did Rose look like tonight?"

"She was beautiful," I answer automatically.

She gave a knowing almost secretive smile. "Umm hmm. You like her and soon you'll be falling in love and then maybe marriage and CHILDREN!" She clapped excitedly. "I wont be picky about the order though."

"Mom, you're getting ahead of yourself," I say laughing nervously.

"Maybe, maybe not but no matter what your feelings are you have to do everything you can to help this girl. She needs us. Perhaps it's all fate."

"You sound like Yeva," I mutter.

"And she's usually right so heed my words and…be careful Dimka. Okay?"

I glanced at my mother unsure of the full understanding of her words but she had that sincerity that mothers often had and somewhere in the back of my jumbled and confused mind I knew, one way or another, she was right.

"'Kay Mama," I agreed.

The bush that ran along side the fence stirred and a moment later a small figure stepped out into the yard. I'd become familiar with Rose enough to recognize her even when the backyard was mostly in darkness despite a few rays of moonlight. It also helped that her silver dress shone in the light.

She walked toward us and then slowed hesitant.

She gave a slight smile to my mother.

"I think we'll give you two a moment. Come on Pepper," my mother said dismissing herself. Before going inside though she gave Rose a gentle motherly pat on the shoulder.

Rose looked surprised by the gesture and stayed standing for a moment after my mother and Pepper went inside.

She shifted, clearly uncomfortable, on her feet. I stood grasping her hand and tugged her gently toward me. She smiled playfully.

"Are you trying to have your way with me already?" she asked sitting beside me.

I couldn't resist smiling with her. It was nice that just for a moment she was back to herself again.

"That depends are you letting me?"

She froze a little surprised I was playing along. Honestly I had surprised myself.

"Definitely," she breathed.

She watched me for a moment just staring. I caught her doing this a few times since I'd started working around her house and whenever I was around her in general but this time it was different. She was looking at me, eyes soft and glittering, as if she was wondering or contemplating whether or not to trust me.

I could tell she decided when she finally shifted her eyes away from my own and stared down at the ground. I felt a little disappointed she'd turned away so quickly. It wasn't too often I had the chance to look at her eyes.

I glanced down too and realized I still held her hand in both of my own. Her skin was so soft compared to my own. We had nearly similar skin tones and I had always imagined her hand would be warm but maybe it was the fact that it was night and everything that happened had made her so cold. She shuddered as if hearing my thoughts and for some reason I tightened my grip.

"Dimitri…we should stay away from each other." She exhaled as if it has taken a lot for her to say that aloud.

I have to be honest. I consider myself a pretty observant person but I didn't expect that.

"Rose, I want to help."

"People that have tried to help me before only got hurt. My parents will do anything if it means keeping their plans in order and intact and keeping me in line and under their thumbs."

"I don't care. I'm here for you."

And it was true. At that moment I felt like I'd do any and everything to protect Rose.

She was unfazed by my words and ran a hand through her.

"Dimitri I…I like you. A lot. I don't want anything to happen to you because of me."

"I can protect myself, Rose. You've said so yourself I'm a pretty big guy," I laughed nervously. "I don't want anything to happen to you either and if there's something I can do to protect you, to help, I will."

She fell against my shoulder, exhausted. I lifted my arm over her head and around her shoulders. She seemed to fit perfectly against me. It felt right.

"You probably already realized my life isn't a fairytale."

"I've noticed," I mumble into her hair. "So what happened?"

"My parents hate me," she said simply.

My automatic response was something along the lines of 'that's not true' but given what I've seen and heard tonight I had my doubts. When I didn't say anything she kept going.

"It wasn't always this way. My dad used to own his own manufacturing company and my mom used to be the suburban stay at home mom."

"Doesn't she still do that?"

"It's…different now. She was like…_Desperate Housewives _suburban."

I still wasn't sure what she meant. She shifted to see if I understood and laughed when I didn't.

"Like those 50s moms on the old TV shows."

I nodded finally understanding.

"I wasn't born yet when she was like this. My sister Lissa told me this."

"You have a sister?"

"Had. She and her twin brother Andre were ten years older than me. They used to joke that things were happier before I was born but I'm starting to think it's true."

I brushed her hair back away from her face as she kept speaking.

"Don't say that."

" In case you haven't noticed I'm a bit of a rebel," she laughed without any humor. "I was the one in my family that disagreed with everything my parents said or wanted me to do. I fought them on everything just because I thought it was fun or funny. I guess I was testing them to see what they'd do but mostly it was because I was jealous of Lissa and Andre. They were the golden children. My parents gave them everything. My mother once told me I was a fault in their plans but that she was too far along to abort me and people had already start to notice she was pregnant and she couldn't give me up for adoption."

Her voice was breaking now on the verge of tears.

"Rose stop you don't have to-"

She leaned up and wiped away at her eyes.

"No I want to. I'm tired of keeping this all to myself."

I laid a hand on her knee and she took it between hers feeling the weight and roughness of it against her. She turned my palm over and ran a finger over my palms and across the back of my hand.

"Lissa and Andre were both out of college and after my father lost his business and decided to go into politics they decided to help him. They weren't like mom and dad. They were pretty awesome to me. Typical brother and sister but I hated them as much as I hated my parents. They didn't do anything after Dad lost his job and he'd…hit me. Only me."

I caressed her hand hoping the smallest touch would relax her and take all of her pain away.

"I thought when he started campaigning and running for political jobs it would stop but it didn't. Anything that happened was my fault. On the night they told me we were moving again…here to Russia they were lying to me saying it'd be different but I was so scared I thought everything would be better if I just ran away. My parents realized what I was planning to do and my dad started hitting me and for the first time Lissa stood up for me. She shoved him away to stop him but he hit her. He never hit her before. You should've seen the look on her face before she fell. He hit her too hard and it killed her and she was only trying to protect me…"

She trailed off tears streaming down her cheeks.

I suddenly realized how much I loved my family. We weren't perfect but at least we were in a good place and are happy.

I pulled her to me and she buried her face into my shirt sobbing. She took a moment to breathe and to speak again.

"Lissa once told me that having a twin was a little bit different than just having a sibling. She said twins are closer and have like a connection, a sort of bond… so when Abe hit Liss, Andre snapped a and he went for Abe and he shoved against the wall and his head hit the shelf." Rose stopped and laughed without any humor in her voice. "That's kind of why mom asked you to build those shelves."

She sobered up a bit.

"We ended up here a little bit later," she mumbled ending her story. "Nothing's changed. Things were okay for a while but now…with this. They're using me. My father reasoned with Adrian that by marrying me it would entitle both parties to money and there're a few business benefits or something. That's what it is. All business. I'm here to make everybody look good."

She hiccupped, fresh out of tears. She finally tore her eyes away from the ground and looked at me. Her eyes were glistening and she looked so tired and exhausted just reliving everything. I felt guilty for make her experience all of it again.

"I'm sorry Roza."

I pulled her to me and she rested against me. We sat in silence for a while. It was a pretty nice night out. I felt her breathe gently against me.

"My parents warned me that if anything, meaning you, interferes with this wedding or their plans they will kill me…and you. I was only able to sneak out because they left with your friend Tasha and Adrian."

"Tasha's not my friend anymore." I didn't realize how childish that would sound outside of my head. Rose smiled.

"She seems to think differently. She assured Adrian and my parents that she'd make it her job to keep you away from me since you were seeing each other."

She said the last words slowly like she was wishing they weren't true.

She nestled into my chest against my heart. She was muttering something, humming a song to herself. Soon she was silent all together and her body became a bit heavier against me.

I leaned down and her eyes were closed. She'd fallen asleep.

My instinct was to wake her but I like the feel of her in my arms safe and warm. It wasn't just that I cared enough about Rose that I wanted to protect her.

She made me feel so…differently than anyone ever had.

Remembering the story she just told me I wasn't sure I'd ever want to let her go again.


	13. A Brief Moment

The safe routine by which I lived my previously careful and normal life consisted of waking in the morning, do whatever work was needed, come home, read a book and then go to sleep only to start the process all over again the next morning.

There was also a bit of banter with one of my sisters, most likely Victoria, in between all of that.

Yes, my life used to safe and simple. I could predict who would say hello to me because they did it every morning; I knew whom I'd be working with and where I was going to be. I wasn't Yeva, with 'magical' powers of foreseeing the future.

I was just an average everyday twenty-four year old trying to support his family.

And then one day my mother tells me a request was sent for a house to be built in our neighborhood, in the land right beside our own and little did I know that such a request would be the demise of my safe routine.

I rested my arm over my eyes thinking back. How did everything become unravel and so out of control? I wondered if I hadn't have dropped that piece of plywood and hit Rose on the head would I be where I am right now.

Yeva would say it was fate.

Normally I'd be the first to disagree with her but I was having my doubts.

Maybe I was meant to help this girl out of her nightmarish life and into a new brighter one. Maybe 'fate' or 'the odds' would've found a way to bring us together with or without that piece of plywood.

I had all of these maybes and possibly's and probably's and all of the events, every single moment, that has happened since meeting this girl running through my head.

All of these doubts and yet I was still as completely certain that no matter what happened or what was happening or what was going to happen I had feelings for this girl, feelings I barely understood, and I wasn't going to let anything bad happen to her ever again.

This sounded so much like the promise I'd made about my family what seemed like months ago.

I had sworn not to let anything interfere with my family's safety and I intended to keep that promise. I just had to include Rose in that promise.

Fate had intervened before but starting from now I had to take control of everything that was happening or at least try.

I turned to my side and stared at the sleeping figure beside me.

I consider myself a gentleman so when I carried Rose upstairs and laid her in my bed I had full intentions to sleep on the couch in the living room or just sit beside her reading. I was to wired and restless and worried to sleep. When I laid her on the bed though she stirred awake briefly and clutched at my arm tighter than I expected a girl of her size to be capable of.

"Don't leave. Stay with me please," she had whispered, sleep in her voice.

"I'm not going anywhere."

This answer didn't seem to satisfy her enough and she patted the empty space beside her on my gray comforter. I hesitated only for a second. Rose had been through a lot already and I didn't want her to wake in the morning thinking I was taking advantage of whatever vulnerability she might be feeling. It was only a slight hesitation though and I lay beside her.

She rolled closer to me where the bed dipped from the weight of the two of us and fell fast asleep.

I envied her wishing I could try and relax just as easily.

I must've fallen asleep, not a deep sleep but asleep enough so that when I blinked there was gray light streaming through the window. I rolled onto my back and stretched.

I nearly jumped off of the bed surprised by the wide set of glistening brown eyes beside me.

"Gah!" I expressed surprised.

I did a double take remembering I hadn't gone to bed alone last night and the night's events came crashing down on me again.

Rose tucked her hair behind her ear and smiled, leaning up and resting on her elbow.

"If that's how you say good morning in Russian then good morning."

I ran both my hands over my tired eyes and sat up looking at the clock before plopping back down on my pillow again.

"It's five AM. I thought you weren't a morning person," I croaked.

"I like to watch the sun come up," she said echoing one of our very first conversations. "I thought today was going to be a really bad one but so far, hearing you shriek like that has put me in a pretty good mood," she laughed.

"I did not shriek."

"No, you just sounded like a tube was being blown. It's always funny hearing a guy with a deep voice shrieking."

I ignored that fighting my own laughter that was building up. We laid in the quiet for a moment as the light from my window stretched across the ceiling. Rose turned beside me, on her back now.

"Dimitri?"

"Hmm?"

"Thank you… for last night, for everything."  
"Happy to help." I took a hold of her hand resting beside me. "I meant what I said, Roza. I'm going to do whatever I can to help you."  
She nodded letting go of my hand to push her hair back away from her face and exhaled.

"I have to go back don't I?"

I wanted to be able to say 'no, you don't have to go back' but suddenly the reminder run through my head about protecting my family and Abe's threat about doing anything to keep his plans in order.

I was in a tough spot.

"Not yet. I'll get you out of there Roza. We just need to figure everything out."

"Your family," she realized reading the expression on my face. I exhaled loudly as an answer. "I wouldn't want anything bad to happen to them either. I like them their…interesting. Nice but interesting," she laughed and then grew serious. "I knew you meant what you said but I don't see anyway out of this without hurting you or them so….I think I need to figure this all out on my own. I never tried to run away again because I was scared. I thought I wouldn't be able to take care of myself but now I think it's time I stand up and try this independence thing everyone is talking about."

"You don't have to do this alone, Rose."

She was leaning up again resting on her elbow. I placed my hand on her cheek and caressed her smooth skin tangling my fingers in her long hair.

"I think I do. It kind of defeats the purpose of the word independence," she tried to joke but I could hear the fear in her voice. She let out a shaky breathe. "You should be proud of yourself."

"Why?"

"You've proved chivalry is not dead."

I smiled to myself. She nestled closer on top of me a hand on my chest.

"Can I kiss my prince or is this already too much of a compromising position for you?"

I started to protest that I didn't think this was a compromising position.

"Dimitri, you're chivalrous and also a bit of a prude… or so your sister told me once."

"Victoria?" I guessed.

She nodded hiding a smile.

"I am not a prude. I can be…spontaneous and…tempting."

"I'm sure you can," she said playing along. "Just not in public or in your mother's house."

She opened her mouth to say more but I leaned up and kissed her. I took her by surprise because it took a moment for her to react but when she did completely kiss me back it was more than I expected. That was one of the best qualities about Rose. She was always surprising me. She pressed into me and I pulled the rest of her body on top of my own.

Her mouth was smooth and warm against my own. Wherever her skin was bare and touching my own it tingle like an electric shock coursing through my body.

When she pulled away for air I had a handful of the dress she was still wearing and my other hand was in her hair.

"See? Spontaneous," I breathed.

"That's one word for it. Alluring, enthralling, amazing," she listed.

"And there's more."

Before she could guess where I was going with this I rolled over so that she was beneath me. She gasped surprised

"Okay so your are full of surprises. Gallantry isn't your only quality," she amended.

"I'm glad you think so."

She wrapped her arms around me shoulders and pulled me down to meet her lips again. It was a nice brief moment forgetting about everything that was going on or that was going to happen around us. I felt happy to be with someone that wasn't in my immediate family for a change. I felt good, and whole and just full of hope.

And then that awful thing called reality set in and I remembered that this was only a _brief_ moment and more problematic moments were soon to come.


	14. Something Like That

"You know, normal mother would be furious and upset that their son had a sleep over with his girlfriend in the house but you look thrilled, Mama. What gives?"

Victoria threw her hands up in frustration almost knocking over the bowl of oatmeal in front of her.

I looked at my mother who seemed to be gleaming, emanating everything I had felt when I woke up this morning with Rose. Her eyes were shining and she looked like she was about to burst with excitement.

"Ignore her," she said waving off Victoria. She walked toward Rose and pulled her to stand in front of her. We'd just come down stairs and I had been hoping no one would be awake or down here yet but who was I kidding. This is my family I'm talking about. Someone is always inconveniently awake and ready to create what I thought was an awkward situation.

I just hoped they wouldn't take too much notice to our disheveled clothes and think we were doing everything except sleeping.

"My dear you know you are more than welcome to stay here," my mother started. Already she was contradicting everything Rose and I had talked about upstairs.

"Thank you Ms. Bel-"

"Call me Olena," she corrected. "Or Mom if you want," she offered.

I didn't have to see Rose's face to know she was smiling.

"Thank you for the offer… Mama Olena," Rose tested unsure of which name to use now. I couldn't blame her. The hopeful look in my mom's eyes that she would have another member in this already big family was almost too much to bear. "I should get home though."

My mother's face fell in confusion.

"Wait what? I thought…" She looked at me for clarification.

"Mom there's more to the story than just helping Rose. Her father threatened to do anything to keep everything in order and that doesn't exclude us," I explained.

She looked from me to Rose and back again understanding.

"But we gave him cake," she reasoned.

"Yeah! Mama has the only cakes in the world that can make people happy," Victoria piped in.

Rose laughed and patted the arm that was on her shoulder.

"It's gonna take more than cake to make him a better man. I mean I think I saw him eat a nail once." My mother and Victoria smiled thinking Rose was joking but by the look on her face she was serious. "Anyway, whatever ingredients you put in your cooks has done wonders for your son. He's really something," Rose complimented turning to face me.

"He sure is something alright and I'll bet he did a little something to get you to say that," Victoria mumbled.

"Hush Victoria."

Rose just laughed and walked back toward me giving me a peck on the cheek and for moment she rest her hand against my face and met my eyes. If I weren't so aware of my mother and sister in the room I would've said that I felt like we were suddenly the only two people in the world. She kissed me again and headed for the side door that led out toward her own house.

"You guys are all so sweet but my parents and Adrian know what game their playing. I have to figure this one out on my own."

"If you think so dear but we're her for you if you need us. Okay?"

She nodded to my mother, smiled at Victoria who now had a mouth full of oatmeal, and gave me one last long fleeting look before pushing the door open and leaving.

"Who knows what's going to happen to that girl once she step back into that house," my mother muttered turning to the stove to stir whatever breakfast she was brewing. "Won't they be suspicious that she was even over here?"

"They should be. Did you see the way her dress and hair were tousled? That can only leave us to suspect you two were doing one thing last night," Victoria mocked drinking her milk.

"Not that it's your business but we didn't do anything," I told her leaning across the counter from my mother.

"Oh yeah. I'm supposed to believe you two slept and talk in your lock bedroom last night," she laughed.

"Victoria," my mother warned but she was eyeing me just as questioningly.

"You know what I actually believe you. We probably would've heard something or Paul would've come running down the hall yelling there was an earthquake and he heard ghost noises coming from Uncle Dimka's room," she cackled moving to put her dished in the sink. "Leave it to you to not take full advantage of a really hot girl in your room."

"Do you and Rose get a kick out of teasing me?"

"Yeah I do. She probably wouldn't tease you so much if you had touched her at all last night," she laughed.

I didn't bother correcting that last statement. There wee some things my mother and sister didn't need to know about my suddenly complicated love life.

"I'm off to that nightmare we call school," she sighed all previous amusement gone.

"Remember to come home right after school to watch the kids. I have to take Sonya to an actual hospital."

"Why? Is she okay?"

My mother was always a well enough medicine woman to consult on pregnancies.

"Yeah it's just that the baby is coming soon and I like to be double sure everything is okay. I did the same with Karolina so don't worry she reassured."

Victoria nodded and left for school promising to be home.

"Something you should be worrying about is the girl your falling in love with. What are we gonna do?"

I sighed thinking about the answer to this question as much as my mother probably had.

"Right now? Nothing. As much as I…like Rose I can't risk her parents or Adrian doing anything to hurt my family," I admitted.

"That was hard for you to say," she acknowledged. "You 'd still be protecting your family if you and were Rose were to marry and give me a few more grandchildren," she smiled.

"Marriage is kind of one of the problems right now and I think it's a little bit too soon to think about any of that. I barely acknowledged that I even had these weird…"

"We call them feelings, Dimka."

"Well despite my feelings I have to think of what's best for you guys and Rose understands that. Who knows what they'd do? They are apart of the government around here and run most of Baia. They could-"

"They could make it so that you were fired from the construction jobs downtown," my mother said solemnly.

I looked at her surprised.

"What?"

"I just opened the later this morning. It was taped to the front door."

I ran my eyes over the letter basically saying my job was immediately terminated and that I could pick up my last paycheck today.

"Yeah they could do something like that," I murmured tossing the letter into the trash. It was signed and stamped not only by those who hired me but with two signatures at the bottom of Adrian Ivashkov and Ibrahim Mazur.


	15. Maybe It's Best

"Where's Mama?"

It was the fifth time Victoria had asked and my patience was growing thin.

"She's never been this late before."

I glanced at the clock. It was a quarter until nine. Sonya's doctors appoint couldn't have taken this long. My glance at the clock had pulled me from my thoughts and I was starting to worry too.

"Maybe something happened to the car. I'll…call for a cab or-"

"Ask the neighbors to drive you because I'm sure they'd love to," Victoria joked dryly. I didn't say anything since she was only worried. "This wouldn't be a problem if we had cell phones," she muttered. "Or TWO cars like every other person in the world."

"I'll call a cab into the city."

I moved to the phone but it had started ringing and Victoria was closer. She picked up on the second ring her mouth agape and her eyes wide.

"Oh my god." She dropped the phone and moved to the coat hook.

"What is it Vika?"

"M-mama and Sonya are in the hospital. They had an accident on the way home."

We gathered up Paul and Zoya and left a note for Karolina and Yeva and ran to the house a mile or so down to ask to borrow a car to head to the hospital in.

Luckily enough our neighbors drove a roomy truck that went fast enough so that we made it to the hospital in less than half an hour.

I'd only ever been to the hospital twice and those times I never went inside. It was to pick up Karolina after her check up for Paul and Zoya. Everyone was born at home and if anyone needed fixing up my mother could do it.

I wasnt sure I liked that my visits to the hospital were increasing suddenly.

After the commotion of trying to gather Paul and Zoya, and then trying to find out where Mama and Sonya were, we finally stood in the doorway of a hospital room.

Sonya was lying back in the bed and my mother was tended to by a nurse who nodded to Victoria and me before leaving.

"What happened? Are you okay?" We asked simultaneously walking toward the bed.

Both of them were bruised and had a few scratches and scars on their faces and arms.

"Something weird. Two cars just rammed us off of the road. This is so embarrassing," my mother sighed.

"Why?"

"I'm a nurse. I know medicine better than anyone and I have to go to thte hospital after leaving the hospital-" Victoria held up a hand.

"I think we get it Mama. We're just glad you two are okay."

The three of them ran to tackle her and a very pregnant Sonya.

"How's the baby?" I asked perching myself on her bed.

"Healthy. I'm having a boy," She tried to say cheerily but I could tell she was tired.

"Yes another boy," I laughed. She patted my hand and then turned to hug Zoya who was sitting beside her on the bed. "Why would someone do this?" She asked staring up at the ceiling.

"Are you sure it wasn't an accident?" Victoria asked but my mother and I were sharing a look and shaking our heads.

"It was definitely done on purpose. Is it already happening Dimka?" my mother asked. She was referring to that promise that had been made by Abe. "I thought he said he wouldn't do anything if-"

"It's kind of hard to take the word of a man who threatens, kills, and is going to be in office," I told her.

"What? What's going on?" Sonya asked.

The three of us shared a look.

"We'll explain later. Let's get home," my mother said. As she walked past me out of the hospital and we shared a long questioning look.

I knew what it said.

Maybe it was better that Rose promised to stay away.

* * *

How did all of this happen?

I'd been asking myself that question all day and now sitting at the table as my mother and Victoria explained the whole Rose story the questioned only seemed to ring louder.

"So this whole Rose situation-" Victoria was summing up.

"She's not a situation Vika. She's a person," my mother said gently.

"A person who has a father and fiancé willing to kill anyone they think is helping her to escape," Yeva said gently in Russian.

I nodded solemnly.

"She said she'd stay away for our safety."

"Now I feel bad that we aren't helping her," Sonya mutters rubbing her swollen stomach.

"I know and she understands."

"So why did they have someone kill us today after promising not to do anything?" Karolina asked curiously.

"To make sure we didn't doubt him," my mother suggested.

"Are we even sure it was him?" Sonya asked.

"Do you have other enemies trying to kill you?" Victoria teased. "Even dad wasn't like this."

All of us around the table froze. We never brought him the man that was our father.

But we knew she was right.

He wasn't _this_ bad even though he wasn't father of the year.

"So what do we do?" Karolina asked. "About everything."

"We get by like we always have so long as we stick together and as much as I don't want to say this we keep our distant from…" my mother let her words trail.

"From Rose I finished."

I how I wished it didn't have to be said.

But it was all true.

My feelings for Rose aside, I had to look after my family. I just wondered if it would be as easy as keeping all of the other promises I've made.


	16. Promise Made Promise Kept?

"How much is here?"

I thumbed through the wad of money in my hand unable to grasp the feel of so much money in my hand.

"Enough to last your family for like…the next year, two if you can stretch it and enough for…medical bills and to fix your car," Rose answered.

I hadn't seen her for nearly a week and all was quiet at the Mazur house. It drove me insane thinking something bad might have happened to her but I calmed myself remembering I had to do what was best for my family.

The fact that she had been sitting on my front porch when I came home tonight from looking for work all day in the city surprised me so much that I had to blink twice to make sure that she was really there.

We had hesitated unsure of how to react but when the silence became too much she had run into me almost knocking me over. I held her so tightly her body pressed against my own. She smelt so fresh except for the faint smell of cigarettes on her clothes.

I hurried her inside behind me upstairs to my room and kissed her so fiercely it wasn't until just now, almost an hour later that we broke apart and I told her of my job loss and that my mother and Sonya had been attacked last week the day after she left.

They were coming back from the hospital when two cars ran them off of the road.

"Are they okay?" she asked worriedly. "How's the baby?"

"They're fine. A few scratches and bruises."

"I'm so sorry Dimitri," she apologized. I looked up from the wad of money.

Rose was sitting on the edge of my bed, one of her legs folded beneath her and she was twisting a strand of her long ponytail in her hands.

She looked different more defined and older than when I had seen her those few days ago. I couldn't pinpoint exactly what it was about her. I found myself running my eyes over any exposed parts of her body to make sure there weren't any bruises. She appeared to be fine physically but it was hard to tell since she wearing long jeans and a sweater.

"It wasn't your fault Roza," I finally replied. "You weren't driving the car, you didn't tell anyone to go out and run my mother and sister off of the road-"

"If you didn't try to help me this wouldn't have happened." Her voice was horse and broken as if she been yelling a lot lately. "Your family's opinions of me must've changed about me," she muttered her eyes downcast.

I reached for a rubber band and wrapped the wad of money remembering the talk my family had the night of the accident.

"They still want to help. It's just…they think it's best if-"  
"If you stay away from me?" she guessed. She looked up her voice sounding bleak.

I could hardly bring myself to answer.

"Yes."

She nodded twisting her hair so tightly before tossing it over her shoulder again. "I guess it's for the better. It's what we talk about. It's just…"

"Different now that it's actually happening," I finished for her.

"I feel like everything is so happening too fast and I just can't breathe sometimes," she gasped. She lifted her eyes then and looked me for so long as if she was taking me in. "I guess I shouldn't have come her then," she laughed nervously playing with a string on the sleeve of her sweater. "I just had to see you."

She whispered the last words like she was almost embarrassed to admit it out loud. I didn't think it was possible but her tanned drinks darkened a nice shade of red.

"I'm glad you did. I missed you too," I admitted.

I had only spent a couple of hours with Rose and being able to hold and touch her but those few hours left a lasting affect.

All week long while I searched for work I found myself thinking about the hollow cold that was left behind after those hours had passed.

I worried about the fact that somehow word had spread pretty quickly and no one would hire me. I didn't know if it was because of any contact I had with the 'Mazur girl' as Rose was referred to or because Abe Mazur and Adrian Ivashkov had told them not to hire me.

The only other business lefts were owned and ran by Ivashkov himself.

I obviously wasn't working at the Mazur house anymore so this left me in a problem spot. I couldn't stop worrying that something might happen to anyone in my family just because the two monsters that were suddenly running Baia decided it was time to make a point.

All of these fears and problems swam around in the back of my head but in the forefront, my first and foremost thoughts, were of Rose.

Rose smiled for the second time that night at it lit up the room. I felt good knowing I could make her happy with the simplest form of honesty.

"You should use this to get out of here."

I tossed her the wad of money and she looked up surprised.

"I don't think I'm going anywhere anytime soon. If I leave they'll come for you."

She tossed the money to me again.

I opened my mouth ready to protest but she spoke before I could.

"The only time I'll be able to leave without any repercussions are when I'm old and dying. Or I could just kill myself."

"Don't say that," I snapped.

"I wouldn't…do that to you," she whispered. Her voice shook as if she'd been thinking a lot about this second option. I set the money wad on the table, figuring I could slip it into her purse later and reached with my long arm length to pull her toward me.

She stood in front of me smiling down. With her height she barely stood a few inches over me. I wrapped my hands around her waist and clasped my hands behind her to make sure she couldn't move away if she wanted to.

"Promise me Roza. You wont ever think like that again."

She stared at me long and hard.

"I promise. I think I love you too much to think like that." It took a moment for her words to completely register before those three words that often caused so much trouble and held so much meaning started to echo in my head.

Her eyes widened as if surprised by her own admittance and then she watched me, waiting to see what my reaction would be.

"I don't think you love me yet," I told her simply.

A lump rose in my throat fearing I might hurt her feelings and she'd never want to see me again. My worries seemed a little over dramatic but Rose seemed fragile and I couldn't blame her.

I didn't want to hurt her. It was just that the word love had always held so much meaning to me. I only ever used it in reference to my family and occasionally Pepper and maybe a few of my favorite belongings like my books but devoting myself to another person who wasn't related to me was something new.

"What?" she asked sounding not as surprised as she did confused.

"We've only known each other for a little while," I started, my light accent suddenly becoming thicker. "Saying I love you is a big deal…to me anyway. It's a promise to some else that means caring, supporting and being there for them for the rest of their lives."

'I love you' were three words that basically meant putting that person first and foremost before all else and with everything going on I wasn't sure I felt that way.

I was raised to think that things like this took time.

My mother and my grandmother and my older sisters had been quick to give their hearts away and they'd been hurt each time.

I didn't want it to be that way.

She nodded reluctantly her eyes glistening before she let out one long breath and close her eyes sitting on my lap.

"I can understand that. I'm not even sure why I said it. It just kind of came out," she whispered.

"It's okay. There'll be a day in the future when we'll say it like it's the easiest thing in the world and when we really mean it and are sure but…not now."

She nodded again and lay against my shoulder.

"You sound so sure that we'll be together in the future," she laughed without any humor into my shoulder. "I can only hope I'll live to see tomorrow."

"Rose you said you wouldn't talk like that again," I reminded her.

"I'm not. It's just that Adrian's getting frustrated with me. You haven't seen me in a few days. It's because we're staying in the city now…with Adrian."

"How'd you get here?"

"I borrowed a car," she admitted almost sheepishly.

"Borrowed?"

"Took without permission but I'm sure he won't notice. He has like fifty of them. Anyway he hasn't…touched me yet but his patience is wearing thin. My parents are saying after the wedding it doesn't matter what he does to me. After at least a couple of months of marriage I wont matter whether I'm here or not."

I rested against the back of the chair running a hand over her arm and down the length of her body as if to warm her and to calm myself.

"He says he'd going to move me away from here, someplace secret and I'll only ever come out into public when I'm needed to make an appearance."

"How does he know you wont just try to run away or that you'll tell someone?"

"Because I won't. I'm too scared to. If I run he says he coming here for you and apparently it's obvious how much you mean to me."

We sat in silence for a moment just thinking.

"You said you get me out of this but we don't exactly have the upper hand here. The only way out would be to kill them and that would make us as bad as them," she said breaking the silence.

"It would. I'm going to be honest Rose. I haven't the slightest idea how to get out of this and after what happened to Sonya and my mother…" I let the sentence trail off unsure of where I was going with this. "You said he said that you'd only have to be married for a few months, probably during the time when other official from Russia meet to see the turn out of the election. What happens after that?"

She didn't say anything because it didn't have to be said.

They'd make her disappear…kill her maybe.

She snuggled closer into the collar of my shirt. I held her a little bit tighter.

"Even if I ran and told someone the police are on their side and I don't have any proof," she sighed. "I came here tonight just to get away and think for a while. I said I'd figure this out on my own but it's not going well. I just needed to see you and to talk to someone that knows what's going on. I shouldn't have come though," she repeated her words from earlier.

She tried to sit up and pull away but I held her even tighter and she wiggled to no avail.

"No stay for a while. You're here now and I'm glad you came."

She was about to speak again but I leaned and pressed my lips to her own. They were as soft as they'd been last time and the kiss wasn't just sweet and heart warming, as it had been last time. I didn't just feel warm from the kiss itself but all over.

If I didn't know any better I'd say I was on fire.

In my attempts to silence her before she spoke our mouths had locked while they were still open and her tongue played against my own. We'd kissed like this before, in a way I'm sure my sister would define as making out but I felt more exposed and open and connected to someone else.

Rose maneuvered herself so that she was straddling me and pressed herself close against me. I ran my hands through her ponytail pulling it out of its hold. She pulled back a few inches surprised, her long dark strands framing her flushed face.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked cupping my face in her hands.

"You're beautiful, you know that?"

"Yeah I'm aware," she smiled. She ran her hands along my stubble cheeks and lifted her face to kiss me again. I stood and swiftly carried her with her legs still wrapped around me and we fell onto the bed, her hair splaying out on the comforter. "You really missed me," she exhaled brushing her own long strands behind her ears. I grabbed a hold of her hand and caressed the smooth skin of her face locking her hair between my fingers,

The kiss continued as before and went a step further. She moved her hands from around my shoulders to the front of my shirt unbuttoning the first buttons.

"What are you doing?" I asked moving my mouth down to her neck pressing my body against hers. I was careful to keep my weight off of her.

"You don't have to love someone to sleep with them," she gasped, fidgeting to reach for the front of my shirt again. "Unless your like celibate or something?" she asked moving so she could look me in the eye and freezing completely.

"No I'm not celibate but why are we doing this now?"  
"Most guys are happy to hit it and quit it," she smiled trying to kiss me again.

"I'm not most guys. I'm not going to take advantage of you."  
"I know. You're too great of a guy to do that," she laughed nervously. She wouldn't meet my eyes and stared at the buttons she had undone on my shirt. "I can't help how I feel Dimitri. I just want one day, a couple of hours at least, to not feel so alone. I want to be held and with someone I really like and to just be happy for a little while and if that means having to sleep with you to do it, I will."

She moved and pressed into me, kissing me. I could understand where this was coming from and I wanted to help but this wasn't what I had in mind.

"Don't you want me?" she asked pulling away when I didn't answer and didn't kiss her back.

How could I not want her? She was beautiful and amazing and a bundle of other words I couldn't come up with at this moment.

"You know I do Rose but it won't make you feel better."

"It'll keep my preoccupied. I'd rather remember a night with you than remember how you rejected me," she countered. Her eyes turned pleading and her lip poked out into a pout. "Come on, I'm a fragile girl who could go over the edge at any moment and you're the only thing in the world that can make me feel better," she pleaded. "Please."

"That's low Roza."

"But it's working," she smile victoriously.

When I didn't say anything she pulled me down by the front of my shirt and kissed me again biting at the bottom of my lips. She finished unbuttoning the rest of my shirt and pushed it off of my shoulders leaving me bare from the waist up. She spread her hands over my chest the tips of her nails brushing the skin from the top of my chest to my waist before circling up again around my shoulders and digging into my back when I tightened my hold around her waist.

Her leg shifted between both of my own and she pulled back for a second.

"I'm I going to do all of the work, muscles?" she whispered. "I still have a lit of clothes on."

I still wasn't completely sure this was right for her right now but she didn't give me much time to think pressing her full lips to my own again. She moved my hand to the front of her sweater and I pulled at the zipper tugging the sweater off of her leaving her in a thin black shirt. She tugged it off herself and was left in nothing but a lacy black bra.

"Were you planning this?" I asked as she tossed the shirt across the room.

"No why?" she asked, a sly smile on her face.

I glanced at her chest and up again and she laughed gently before launching herself against me and rolling over so that she hovered on top of me her hair falling like a curtain on either side of her face.

"Are you sure want to do this?"

She nodded her face complete seriousness. She still looked as fragile, easily broken, as she had the night I'd offered to take her to the fair and while we were at the political banquet. She also seemed determined.

I figured if there was anyone she was going to turn to for comfort I was glad it was me, the guy that rejected her feelings once tonight and that had admitted there was no simple way to help her.

She'd paused, watching me as I thought.

"You look…perplexed."

I raised my brows at her use of the word.

"SAT's coming up soon. Old Angry Lady Red's been forcing me to cram," she shrugged. "Just thinking," I admitted.

I pulled her down rolling us over again. I slowly leaned down ready to see exactly where all of this would lead to and still uncertain about it's after affects when she put a hand ot my chest stopping me.

"You don't want to do this do you?" she whispered.

I froze pushing her hair back from her face.

"I just don't think it's the right time right now."

Her jaw clenched and unclenched before she gently pushed for me to move off of her and sat on the edge of the bed pulling her shirt on and standing to reach for her sweater.

When she turned around to face me she was smiling but it was forced, so similar to her mother's smile when she was in public.

"It's okay. You don't…have to do anything."

"Rose…" I started to say. "It's not like I don't want you. I do. But-"

She held up a hand to silence me.

"Really, Dimitri. We're good. You're probably right anyway. I just don't know what's gotten into me."

She slid into the chair beside the window.

I pushed my hair away from my face trying to catch my breath for a second.

She looked so small, tired, confused, overwhelmed and completely alone sitting so far away. I thought about reaching to hold her again but I figured she'd had enough of that tonight.

She sat staring at the carpet for a while before suddenly remembering something and pulling her bag onto her lap.

I waited, sitting on the edge of my bed and resting my arms on my knees.

She pulled a long envelope out of her messenger bag and handed it to me a second later.

"What's this?"

She leaned behind her to grab the money I'd tossed on the table. In the heat of everything going on I'd forgotten about it. She slid the money into the envelope as I opened it and pulled out a bunch of smaller envelopes.

"What is this Rose?"

"I bought those yesterday. Kind of a spontaneous thing," she laughed nervously.

They were two plane tickets and broachers to different countries and places in the world.

"I was thinking, before the threat about coming after your family that Adrian made, that me and you would runaway someplace. I just wasn't sure where. I wasn't really thinking though because I didn't even consider what would happen to your family and when I did I had the idea that they could come with us but let's face it Dimitri it would be pretty difficult with nine people and they wouldn't want to leave home and neither would you probably," she rambled.

"Rose this is sweet but…"

She stood up pulling her bag around her shoulders.

"I know Dimitri. Believe me I'm starting to get it now. It must be some teenage denial thing. I was convincing myself it would be that simple but being anywhere near me is ever that simple."  
I slipped the tickets in the envelope and laid them on my nightstand. I wanted to promise we'd use them one day but lying was becoming a bad habit of mine and there was no need to get her hopes up.

I reached for the money and was about to hand it to her but she grabbed my hand closing it around the wad.

"Use it. Let me do the little I can to help you." She leaned and kissed me on the cheek. She slid the tickets off of the nightstand. "You can probably turn these in for a little bit of money too," she said sliding it into my hands. She reaches up to pull her hair back and zip her sweater the rest of the way before moving toward my bedroom door.

I stood leaving the money on the bed.

"Rose, I don't want this to be the last time we'll see each other."

She reached for the door and without looking back said," Me either but we were right before. It's better this way."

She pulled the door open and Pepper came in, dancing his front paws against her chest.

She ruffled his fur and greeted him smiling I could guess.

"Take him," I told her gesturing to Pepper.

She looked at me surprised, her eyes watering and she smiled slightly.

"You said he makes you feel better. Take him."

She whispered a thank you and locked her hands in Pepper's collar so that he'd follow.

"I'll do my best to keep my promise Dimitri but if…if I don't. Forgive me."

With those final words I listened as she and Pepper walked down the stairs and out the front door. I was too stunned and confused to bother offering to walk her out or going after her.

It wasn't until I finally settled down in my bed thinking that I realized which promise she was referring to. I felt my stomach fall and my head started to hurt.

She said she wouldn't do that to me, she loved me too much to do that to me even when I didn't say I loved her back.

I struggled to remember if I really told her how much she meant to me even if it wasn't love. And then I realized it didn't matter.

I had basically given off all signals that I didn't really want her despite my words and I could kiss her and tell her I'd protect her and that I wanted her a million times and have it tattooed on my forehead but with the way Rose's life was going and everything she must've been feeling it wouldn't have mattered.

I played with these thoughts and the few memories I had with Rose for hours until the sun started peeking up in the sky and I finally drifted off to sleep.


	17. A Little Bit Of Hope

"She gave you all of this?"

I nodded as my mother flipped through the bundle of money I just handed her. I told her, or actually she guessed after a couple of weeks of my moping around with what she called her mother's intuition, everything that happened those few night's ago. I left out the more private moments but she probably sensed that we didn't spend the entire night talking.

I sipped from my coffee mug feeling slow and dreary.

"I feel bad Dimka."

I set my cup down confused.

"Why Mama? You didn't do anything."

"Exactly. I always told you to honor your commitments and to be true to your self and then, because of a little incident, I ask you not to do either of those things."

She sighed and leaned against the counter.

"We said it was better if we kept our distance from Rose for the same reason: to protect the rest of the family," I reminded her.

I'd been reminding myself of this all of last night and this morning. The words weren't haven't the same affect as they used to though.

"And whether we choose to realize it or not that girl is apart of this family. We've known her for a couple of months now and she needs us."

"We always welcome anyone who is in need," Yeva said coming into the kitchen.

It took her a while to walk into the kitchen and sit down beside Mama but I knew that secretly she was capable of running marathon.

"Yes, we do," my mother agreed. "Family protects family and she is apart of ours."

"Okay so what do you suggest we do that doesn't endanger anyone else in this family but also helps Rose?"

My mother was actually silenced and froze sharing a look with Yeva. They hadn't thought about the repercussions or of any successful solutions to helping Rose either.

"First and foremost it is important that you talk to Rose and try to convince her to stay strong until we come for."

"We?"

"What part of family are you not understanding?" Yeva snapped in Russian.

I raised my brows at her surprised.

"We'll just need some time…a day or two."

"Well I'll call Adrian and then the Mazurs and tell them not to do anything drastic for the next two days," I said dryly.

My mother waved a dismissive hand at me thinking.

"Well…we'll figure something out. Just try to get into contact with Rose and we'll think of the rest later. Oh and speaking of getting into contact, Ivan called. He wants you to meet him downtown."

I hesitated, reluctant to take the address she was handing me.

Ivan had been in on everything that was going on and didn't say a word. Actually, to be honest, he warned me but not very well.

I decided that it couldn't hurt to see what he wanted and I was curious.

Not to mention he was my only and closest link to Rose.

An hour's walk and two bus rides later I made it down town where people were hustling and bustling to who knows where. There wasn't much to do in Baia and I always wondered where everyone was rushing to.

The address that Ivan left for me was to a dark dimly lit restaurant. I paused outside of the doors unsure if I wanted to go in. I knew this was one of Ivashkov's restaurants. I didn't have to wait long though because Ivan walked out through the front doors dressed head to toe in black, grinning as he walked up to me.

"You know Dimitri we should really stop meeting like this," he said jokingly.

"Why'd you ask me to come here?"

I'd had enough games and I wasn't exactly in the best of moods.

"So touchy lately," he muttered holding his hands up at surrender. "Walk with me friend."

When I didn't immediately follow he glanced back and said, "It's concerning your girl."

I immediately started walking beside him. We made our way down the main street, lined with brick apartment buildings with fire escapes wrapped around the buildings' structures, antique stores and café's, and further down at the end of the street a few nightclubs.

"So what's going on man? How's the family?"

I gave him a long hard look and then averted my gaze.

"How do you think? Your boss hired someone to run them-"

"I know. I know. I didn't know that was happening until after it already happened. You know I would've said something if I'd known."

"Do I? Your loyalties seem to lie elsewhere," I retorted.

"If that were true I wouldn't have called you here so that you could see your girl."

I stopped walking, surprised.

"What?"

He sighed and gestured for me to keep walking.

"I was reassigned as a bodyguard but it's more like I'm watching to make sure she doesn't leave. The first thing Ivashkov told me was to not let her get to me and I didn't have the slightest clue in the world what the hell that meant and then this last week, I knew. She's good at working the whole emotions angle."

I nodded smiling to myself. "Yeah she does that."

"She even turned you into a softy Belikov," he chuckled. "Anyway, the few times I've seen her she was this big loud mouth cussing out her parents but she's been quiet. She's stayed in her room with that damn dog of yours crying."

My heart lurched at the thought of her by herself and crying.

"This apparently didn't make Adrian too happy when he wanted her with him at the final banquet before the votes were announced. I don't see why it matters though since he's sleeping with Tasha but he must be one greedy S.O.B., and he's a drinker, 'cause when Rose wouldn't open the door to let him in and called him a few words even I wouldn't use…things got ugly."

Again I stopped walking and pulled Ivan's sleeve to stop him to.

"How bad?"

"It started with him breaking down the door and ended with a lump on the head, a broken nose, stitches and cast for her broken wrist."

I swore in Russian under my breath. Ivan gestured for us to start walking again.

"Don't get too worried. The broken nose is mine."  
For the first time I really looked at my old friend and his nose was swollen from the ridge of his nose to the tip. It was a purplish and yellow hue.

"Yes Belikov I'm still the good guy. I tried to help her out but that dude is pretty strong when he's drunk."

"You went against Adrian and you're still alive and kicking?"

"Surprised the hell out of me too. My guess is that he barely remembers 'cause the next morning it was like nothing happened. He just said if I did anything like that again I'd loose a few important and sacred limbs. I must be a damn good employee for him to keep me around."

"It's probably because you're a giant. He offered me the same job because of my build."

"Whatever it is I feel honored," he chuckled. "I thought it might be the alcohol that he passed out from but the bump on the head from when Rose hit him. Not to mention that demon dog of yours bit him."

"I taught Pepper well," I smile to myself proudly. And then remembering Rose had been hurt too my smile fell. "How's Rose?"

"She was a little bit too happy about hitting Adrian. I had to pry the lamp out of her hands to keep her from killing him."

"You should've let her," I muttered.

"First rule in working, never kill the hand that signs your paycheck," Ivan says honestly.

"She's good though. She kind of broke down and had some epiphany or something because she started wailing about missing you and wishing you were there. All the lovey dovey crap."

I felt the same longing too but there were some things Ivan didn't need to be let in on.

"So what are we doing…here?" I asked looking around the neighborhood.

We were in the rural area out of the main city surrounded by Russian's tall trees, a few power lines and, if I squinted my eyes enough, a house in the distance.

"I'll pretty much do anything for money. You know that except killing of course but I am never one to be cock blocker and to interfere in my best friend's love life."

"You and Rose are best friends now?" I laughed surprised.

My mood had lightened and lifted at the prospect of seeing Rose later today.

"After having one of those long girly talks where she revealed too much about girls that I just didn't need to know, yeah we're besties!"

I glanced at him questioning his sudden cheerfulness as we kept walking toward the house growing the closer we came.

It was a modest house for the nice end of the rural part of Baia. It was completely built of wood and bricks. Ivan gestured to follow the stone paved walkway that leads to the back.

"I thought they were living in the city?"

"Becoming the doting mother, Janine decided it was best of Rose didn't have so many bruises when she shows up for some party appearance at one of Ivashkov's clubs so they moved her out here with me on guard."

He looked around making sure there was no one else.

"Tasha's been coming by a lot lately to cover up her bruises with makeup but Rose just washes it off," he explained looking around. He opened the sliding back door and ushered me inside. The inside was all wood and smooth surfaces. Everything was sharp edged and there was a manly atmosphere in the house.

"Top of the stairs."

I followed as Ivan led me up the stairs past the second floor to a third. There was only one door. He tapped his boot against it and pushed the door gently open.

"Roses?" he called.

I felt a weird tugging at my heart, a pang in my stomach that Ivan had been closer to Rose these last few weeks than I had been.

"Come in," she called. Her voice sounded the same as it had when she'd been in my bedroom so distant and faraway. It sounded groggy and scratched.

"I have a surprise for you," Ivan said playfully walking into the room.

"It's not another bottle of Vodka is it?" I heard her ask.

"No this is something almost better than that."

"Can I drink it and will it help me wallow in my misery?" she asked glumly.

"If you use it correctly," Ivan laughed.

"I don't want it," she sighed. I could hear the jingle of Pepper's collar. She must've been petting him.

"She's been turning to the bottle lately. I'm sure you'll cheer her up. And hopefully sober her up," Ivan said over his shoulder. "Just use some of your Russian manly charms like I have."

"Who are you talking to?" Rose asked sounding confused.

Ivan stood back and I brushed past him. The room was bigger than it looked from outside. The walls were floor to ceiling window, there was a door that led into the bathroom and there was nothing but a large brass bed, a few of Rose's bags and a broken lamp on the floor.

Rose had been lying on the floor surrounded by bright sequenced oversized pillows. Pepper was lying beside her or I guess he had been. Rose had shot up like a rocket once I walked into the room. She was wearing a long colorful skirt that were different shades of light to dark blue and that swirled around her legs and almost covered the tattered pair of converse she was wearing.

She was wearing a white tunic with sleeves barely long enough to cover the cast that was on her arm. Her hair was hanging down to her waist in long waves framing her bruised cheek and the bandage at her temple.

Her eyes widened astonished before softening into a barely there smile and then her happy expression fade completely.

"What are you doing here?" she croaked out. She leaned around me to look at Ivan. "What did you do?"

Ivan was leaning against one of the window walls trying to open a bottle of liquor he'd found on the floor.

"As much as I love seeing you wallow in your pity," Ivan said sarcastically taking a sip from the now open bottle. "I thought it might be a good idea to see the man you're pining over," he explained gesturing to me.

"You shouldn't have come here. You should stay away from me," she gasped stepping backward.

Pepper stood up taking notice that I was here and trotted to greet me.

"Well at least someone's happy to see you. I always said the only people you could turn on were dogs," Ivan joked. "No offense," he said to Rose.

"None taken," she breathed watching me. We locked eyes as I kneeled to play with an excited Pepper. I missed those wide almond shaped eyes the glittered a light shade of brown and were framed by her long lashes. She stared at me just as intently and seemed to be fighting some internal battle with herself.

"Is this going to lead to you two tearing each other's clothes off?" Ivan hiccupped.

Neither of us said anything.

"Normally I'd ask to watch but that'd be weird with since you're my best friend and…I just don't need to see that side of Dimitri and I wanna stick to this being a good human being thing I'm hearing so much about. I'm gonna go see if that maid is feeling amorous," he finished walking out of the room. He shut the door behind him and it wasn't until we heard the sound of his footsteps retreating down the steps did I stand up and start to move toward her.

She stepped back.

"Roza, I missed you." I thought that if I started simple things would go better.

I step forward and she stumbled backward over a pillow.

"Dimitri you should go." Her words didn't hold much conviction.

"I'm not going to let either of us push each other apart anymore. Forget about Adrian, forget about your parents. There's only you and me right now and if we really want to be together that's all that matters."

"I wish that was true," she whispered shaking her head.

Her voice was breaking and she looked like she was on the verge of crying.

"It is. We're stronger when we're together and if anything happens I'd want you to be there with me."

"Dimitri your family-" she started to remind me.

"They feel the same way. You're apart of our family."

She shook her head still stepping away from me with every step I took forward. She backed into one of the window walls unable to move back any further.

I moved so that the front of my coat brushed against her. Her breaths were coming fast. I could see her chest rising and falling.

I laid my hands on either side of her head leaning against the glass of the window.

"If you really want me to go, to stay away from you, I will," I lied. "Just say it."

I was bluffing of course, I just wanted, no needed, to hear her say it.

Her jaw clenched and she bit the bottom of her lip.

"Y-you should go," she sighed as if the thought of even trying to send me away was too exhausting.  
"Tell me to stay away and that you don't want to see me again."

She swallowed and stared down at her feet.

"I don't…" she sighed again brushing her bangs away from her face. "I don't want you here. I don't want to see you. Go."

She wouldn't meet my eyes not even when I didn't move. She pushed at me pressing against my chest but I wouldn't budge. She pushed against me with all of her weight at one point hitting her fist against my chest. She started crying tears streaming down her cheeks. When she finished hitting against me letting out everything that had been building up, she sagged exhaustedly against my chest.

I wrapped my arms tight around her and held her against me. Her body fit perfectly against my own. She wept until there weren't any more tears to fall from her eyes.

She held herself away from me to look up at me.

"You weren't really going to leave were you?" she asked sounding worried. She actually wasn't sure if I was telling the truth or not.

"Of course not. I love you too much to do that to you."

I said it.

It had only been a few short weeks that had given my long speech about love taking time and being an important part in anyone's life. I'd told her it was the sacred promise of committing to someone and it wasn't until recently that I realized Rose had been right in saying she loved me.

I loved her too.

She looked up at me with starry eyes.

She clutched me trying to wrapped her arms entire around me.

"When?"

"To be honest Roza I have no idea. I just know how long it took me to realize it," I admitted. She beamed up at me.

"I love you too."

She reached up on her toes and I leaned down so that another moment wouldn't go by that we weren't kissing.

Things were far from perfect but this small moment gave me a little hope that so long as we stuck together, we'd be okay.


	18. One Can Only Hope

"So you think he can help us?" I asked.

I was trying to keep Rose focused and to get her attention but her mind seemed elsewhere while she was kissing me. We were sitting on the floor surrounded by all of the large pillows. To be more precise I was sitting on the floor leaning against one of the floor to ceiling windows and Rose was on top of me.

It was kind of an interesting since she was wearing the long skirt. She'd settle herself on top of me in such a way that her arms were wrapped around my neck and she's press a soft kiss somewhere between my shoulder and my forehead.

Right now she'd finished- in between kisses of course- coming up with a way out of the complicated and forever worsening situation we were in. It was hard to pay attention my self with the way she was brushing her lips against my neck.

"Roza," I sighed struggling to pay attention.

She giggled against my neck and pulled away resting her forehead against my own.

"We haven't scene each other in days so forgive me for wanting to make up some of our lost time physically," she breathed, her lips barely brushing against my own.

I couldn't help but smile. We were in a serious situation though and my instincts were telling me that our bliss filled moment was going to end soon.

"It could be like this everyday if you'll finish explaining your idea on how to get out of here," I whispered.

She sighed, realizing I was right and leaned away from far enough so that her arms were still around me but I could look at her completely. Pepper took this as a sign to insert him between us.

"You've known Ivan longer than I have. You think he'll help?"  
"Ivan mostly works for money rather than moral values. Although he tells me you've had some affect on him," I admit smiling.

"I think it's more of a guilt thing than anything. Maybe we could guilt him into helping us," she suggested.

"Helping us do what?"

"Well… I'm not sure you're going to like all of this plan."

"Why?" I ask worriedly. "And where was this plan when I saw you last week?"

She looked a little sheepish. "I've had a little bit of down time since being here. When I really have nothing to do except wait to see what's going to happen to me I had time to think about a few things."

"Like hitting Adrian with a lamp."

Again she looked down sheepishly. She leaned her head against my shoulder with her arm stretched so that she can play with a lock of hair that had escaped from where I had pulled it back.

"That was more of a spontaneous thing."  
"I'm proud of you," I complimented. Pepper lifted his head as if asking for praise on his attack on Adrian. "You two boy."

"Yeah well…he was scaring me, I was scared," she whispered her voice muffled by my shirt.

Feeling a mix of guilt and anger I say, "I'm so sorry I wasn't here, Roza, to protect you. You should've been with me."

She pulls away for a second to look at me and barely smiles. "Hey I was doing pretty good on my own, Romeo. It's the twenty first century and women have been protecting themselves for a few decades now and I think that includes me."

I know she's trying to reassure me but I can hardly bring myself to smile. I stare down at the cast that's visible from where her sleeve falls away. Following my gaze she shifts so that her sleeve falls back down again. She's sitting on my extended legs and her shoulders fall. She tilts my chin up, caressing my unshaven cheek, to meet her glittering eyes.

"This wasn't your fault. It's just…life I guess," she laughs without humor. Her eyes seem heavy lidded and sad. I realize, taking a long look at her for what felt like the hundredth time since I'd been here, how much more defined Rose had become. She's trying to smile and to enjoy our time together but there's a sort of sadness to her. I can't really blame her considering the situation.

I want to just hold her and make her feel better. I want her to know that now that we're together again I won't ever let her go. I want to tell her all of these things but I don't have to.

Rose is watching me as I'm contemplating all of this and whatever trouble that's ahead and the barely there smile I had wished would widen and brighten before appeared. She falls against me pressing her lips onto my own again. I feel the familiar warmth and can't help but smile against her lips breaking the kiss somewhat.

Rose had fallen against me so hard that we fell backward and I landed with a thud onto my back.

"I love you too," she whispers brushing her fingers through my hair. We stay like that for a moment; Pepper comes to lie beside us, until Rose sighs and lies on my chest. "So I've been thinking…" she starts.

"Is this your plan?"

She nods.

"The plan you think I wont like?"

She nods again but before she can speak in interrupt her.

"I don't want to hear it."

I'm unsurprised when she leans up to look at me but I do miss having her close to me. I sit up myself and tug her toward me. She doesn't resist but won't lean as close as she was before.

"What?"

"I don't want to hear about any plan that I might not like. Right now I just want you to say yes and smile when I tell you that you're leaving this place and you're coming home with me," I tell her.

It takes a moment for my words to completely register and when they do she shakes her head no.

"Dimitri if I leave with you and Adrian or my father find out they'll-"

"It doesn't matter. We'll deal with everything when it happens. I just know that it's better if we're together."

I've never felt completely attached to someone to the point that I'd risk putting my family in danger but this was one of those small moments when I realized love changes everything and that Rose was worth the risk of change.

She seemed to relax a little.

"If I run by myself then they'll be focused mainly on me and they won't-"  
I held my hands on either side of her face to silence her.

"You're not doing this alone. I already made the mistake of letting you go before it's not going to happen again. You're going to grab your bags, I'm going to see if Ivan can try to help us, and then we're going to leave and we'll figure out what to do from there. My family will protect you," I instructed her.

She was barely able to nod with my hold still on her face. I leaned in to give her a quick reassuring kiss and stood heading for the door.

"Five minutes Rose and then we're out of here."

I left her sitting on the floor surrounded by the pillows, Pepper, and probably full of as many worries as my own. I closed the door hoping whatever spontaneous idea I was coming up with would work.


	19. It's All Amazingly Clear

I was suddenly remembering that lesson that all parents eventually bestow upon their children at some point in life. There's a different translation for it in Russian but it's basically the idea that if you hit your head against the wall once hopefully you learn never to do it again.

I was that kid that knew whatever I was doing was wrong but I did it anyway, the possible consequences of whatever I was doing not really hitting me until the cycle started all over again.

This felt like one of those times.

I was headed down a dangerous path.

The only difference between now and then is that I'm not alone on this path.

It wasn't hard to find Ivan downstairs in the large house. I could hear the giggles of who I assumed was the maid he left in search of before. He had a girl with long hair, deer-caught-in-the-headlights eyes, and wearing a small maid's uniform cornered in the kitchen.

"…involve very little clothes," Ivan was saying. The woman giggled but stopped once she realized I was in the room. She eased herself from around Ivan, gesturing that I was in the room.

"You're not a very good bodyguard if _I _snuck up on you," I pointed out as the maid glanced at Ivan once before leaving the room. I noticed a bruised under her eye as she passed.

Ivan chuckled, pulling himself up on the counter.

"I was preoccupied in case you didn't notice. She speaks only a bit of english but i think my intentions broke through all alnguage barriers. So how did things play out upstairs? That was a pretty quick hook up, man."

I ignore the latter part of the comment and start to explain what I hope is a full proof solution to the dilemma at hand.

"I'm taking Rose away from here, home with me."

Very rarely have I been able to surprise Ivan.

"That's not a good idea. I've seen what they-"

I hold up a hand to stop whatever arguments I had already anticipated.

"They're dangerous, I know. We live in a pretty large country with millions of people and just as many criminals leaving us with two options: we either let them continue to take over or we fight them." I honestly cannot explain where my earnest heartfelt 'heading for war' speech came from but, if anything, I was feeling a bit of excitement, nervousness, and adrenaline running through my body. "I didn't realize how deep you'd become," he said sarcastically. He slid from the counter and stood in front of me arms crossed. It was all seriousness now.

"I've seen what business these guys are in and it isn't good. I feel guilty for trying to get you involved. They kill people, wrap them up and throw them away like it's nothing and then they're never heard from again. Adrian is good at covering his tracks and even if he wasn't it doesn't matter because the police are not on our side."

When I didn't say anything he exhaled dramatically.

"You really have a thing for this girl don't you?"

This time it was my turn for the dramatic sigh.

"More than I can explain."

He nodded and then breathed again, closing his eyes and banging his head slightly against the kitchen's cabinets.

"Okay then. Ideas? And they better be good."

"Anything I have planned is vague and was thought up on the spot. I'm sort of hoping to wing it and just plan this as we go along," I admitted.

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that," he complains through gritted teeth. "I'm gonna need some alcohol before I do anything."

He pulls a bottle from one of the cabinets, takes a quick swig, and then offers it to me.

"It's not as strong as I'd like it to be but it's enough to numb the building headache."

I shake my head, setting the bottle on the sink. "No. I need to be as clear headed as possible and so do you."

"Fine. So what are we going to do Mr. Spontaneity?"

I ran a hand over my face, thinking.

"Right now, the best thing we can do is get Rose as far from this house, from Adrian as possible."

"So you want to take her to your house, next door to her evil father and mother. Yeah, that seems like a full proof plan."

I grimaced.

"I didn't even think about that. But they're all here in the city. It won't really matter. I'm not planning on staying there long. I just need to buy some time."

We stood in the kitchen for a few moments thinking, listening to the ticking of the clock on the wall and then Ivan grinned an almost creepy grin, even for him.

"I've always been told my success as a ladies' man would only bite me in the ass but not this time!" he declares heading out of the kitchen.

Not really understanding where he was going with this I followed behind him, glancing at my watch. Time was very much of the essence.

"Mia!" Ivan called.

"Who's-"

"The maid."

"And we're looking for the maid because…"

"You'll see. Go check on your girl and I'll bring Mia up in a minute," he instructed, gesturing to the stairway.

I watched him bump into furniture and maneuver around the sharp edged house for a moment before heading up the stairs. Less than an hour ago I had declared Ivan somewhat of an enemy or a friend of the enemy but now it seemed he was willing to help us and as initially reluctant as I had been upon meeting him this morning and to trust him, I had to just hope he was completely on our side now.

I pushed the bedroom door open.

For some reason I had imagined Rose still sitting in the position I had left her in. instead she was standing by the window, Pepper sitting beside her looking up

"Ready?"

She jumped at the sound of my voice. She relaxed a moment after and turned to face me.

"Yeah. I was just…as much as I hate being here it has a pretty nice view don't you think?"

She leapt over the pillows and grabbed my hand to stand beside her looking out at the sky-high lush green trees.

"Pretty isn't it?"

I looked down at Rose, wrapping my arms around her waist.

"Beautiful," I murmured kissing the top of her head.

"I get the feeling you aren't talking about the view." I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Can you blame me?" I whisper.

I can't explain the amazingly warm good feeling of having Rose near me again. She leans against me completely, letting her body fall back. She heaves a sigh tucking her hair behind her ears.

"This is really it isn't it?"  
"This is what?"

"Everything changes from this point on. I won't be under my parents thumb anymore. I'll have to live…probably the rest of my life worrying."

I shifted her so that she could face me. Her eyes were soft, less direct than what I had grown accustomed to and she was wearing her sad smile.

"You don't have to worry about anything except maybe where you want to go once we leave here. I'll protect you Roza. I swear it."

She read my eyes as if making sure she was the promise that was there leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed me. I would never grow used to the softness of her full lips or, despite how small she was, she tried her best to hold onto me tightly. I hugged her body to my chest and she seemed to fit perfectly. She moaned against my mouth before pulling back slightly.

"I believe you," she breathed, her chest falling and rising deeply. She leaned her forehead against my lips tugging at the collar of my shirt.

"I have a promise to make of my own."

"Like what?" I asked intrigued.

"I promise to show you how much I love and appreciate you."

"How exactly?"  
She wears a smile that meets my own.

"You'll see. If we make it out of here alive, you'll see."

She leaves me guessing which only makes me want to kiss her more. I leaned down for another but Ivan's uncanny timing interrupts. He pushed the door even more open so hard that it hits against the wall. The maid from the kitchen is following behind him surprised.

She curtsies to Rose and Rose gestures for her not to do that.

"Sorry to interrupt the love fest but times a tickin'."

"So what do you have planned exactly?" Rose asks looking up at me for answers. I shrug uncertain of my friend's plans. He pulls the maid to stand beside Rose. He positions them so that they're together breaking apart where our hands are clasped.

"See what I see?" he asks standing in front of the two girls.

I move to stand in front of them and I can feel my eyes widen a bit.

"What?" Rose asked confused.

"The resemblance is uncanny," Ivan grins in a singsong voice.

Rose and Mia glance at each other simultaneously. They both have waist long dark hair, wide eyes, and are about the same shape and size.

"Mia has that bruise under her eye because Adrian couldn't tell them apart last night and he hit Mia by mistake before getting to Rose," he explained.

Rose glanced at Mia surprised.

She said something in what I deciphered as Turkish. The maid shook her head and replied with a bunch of angry gestures.

"She's saying her family owed Adrian a debt and when they couldn't pay it they brought her here," Ivan translates. "Her family has a bit of money now and they're trying to get her back but Adrian refuses."

"So she has a reason to work against him too," I point out.

"Lots of people do they're just too afraid to do anything."

"We just need to gather enough people and help, to stop him and Abe."

"I have a feeling that's easier said than done," Ivan mutters.

The two girls stop talking and Rose is staring at Ivan.

"You want to use her as a decoy? He'll kill her once he realizes she isn't me!"

"Tonight the votes are being announced, any bets on who you think is gonna win?" when no one smiles at his joke Ivan continues. "Tonight the votes are being announce which means everyone will be in the city for the announcement, the ceremony, and then the celebration after. Adrian and your parents only expect Rose to be there for the announcement and the ceremony. There's no reason for you to be at the celebration. In fact they planned on sending you back here with me. Mia looks enough, with some makeup and maybe an outfit, like you to pass as you while you sneak away, I'll take Mia/Rose away before the celebration begins. Hopefully I can get her out of the country too, home to her family and no one becomes the wiser until maybe the next day or so. That should buy enough time to get out of the country, maybe the planet."

The three of us stare surprised at Ivan who is thinking amazingly clearly even after a swig of liquor and a broken nose.

"Wow. You think it'll work?" Rose asks looking from me to Ivan.

"I hope so," I sigh.

"I don't know if I feel comfortable leaving Mia here."  
"I'll be here," Ivan says gesturing to himself. "I'll be close by to protect her while you protect her," he says to me.

I look from Rose to Mia. Mia is smiling. Rose looks nervous but hopeful.

"Okay. Let's do it before I lose any nerve I have," Rose mutters.

"Good. We need something of yours for Mia to wear."

Rose tosses one of her smaller bags to Ivan and the two move toward the bathrooms as Ivan explains everything else that is going on. Rose is standing with her hands on her hips.

"This is scary," she admits.

I hug her to me and tilt her chin up.

"You and me Rose. I'll protect you."

She smiles, leans up for a quick kiss, and then we break apart to prepare for the beginning of what I was anticipating as a new wave of change, danger, and hopefully, happiness.


	20. Maybe

"Do you really think this'll work?"

Rose was pacing anxiously around the bedroom, tripping over the many pillows. She'd been pacing for so long while Mia was getting ready that Pepper gave up on trying to walk along side her. Ivan and I stood leaning against the wall watching her go by.

"Do you want us to leave you here to make sure it worked," Ivan replied.

Rose gave him a squinty-eyed look and was about to show him a certain finger when in intervened wrapping my hand around hers.

"Just try to relax. We just have to do a lot of hoping… and maybe a little bit of praying wouldn't help," I added.

"I'm an atheist," she said casually brushing her hair out of her face. She glanced at the bathroom door where Mia was still getting dressed. "What's taking her so long? Maybe she realized how insane this plan was. Maybe she's lost her nerve because I know I am."

"You look like you're losing your sanity," Ivan muttered.

Rose whirled around to face him.

"You try having a psycho abusive father, a distant cold mother, and an arranged marriage to some Russian bigwig with a drinking problem and anger issues and you try keeping your sanity!"

With each word she continued stepping toward him threatening to strike him. I grabbed her at the waist and pulled her to me, something I'd been doing a lot today. I enjoyed having her close.

I motioned for Ivan to check on Mia and I turned Rose around to face me. She was breathing heavily trying to keep her long her out of her flushed face. I tugged my own ponytail down and used the band to tie her hair back away from her face so I could see her clearly.

"Rose we'll be okay. We'll get through this."  
"How can you be so sure?"

"Because you've been through worse and I know I've been through what some would consider hell. But we both survived."

I had been simply trying to reassure her but in comforting her I thought back to my own hard times, memories of the abuse that used to haunt me in my house; of everything Rose had told me that had happened to her before I'd met her. I was thinking back to this all of this and reinforced what had become a number one priority, that I had to protect Rose and that this impulsive plan had to work.

She nodded probably reliving a few memories of her own. Just then Mia stepped out of the bathroom in a nice dress of Rose's and her hair brushed around her face so that to anyone not looking too closely, she looked like Rose.

"This should probably strengthen any fears you have about this plan not working," Ivan said looking Mia over.

"I look okay?" Mia asked hesitantly.

Ivan gestured her to the mirror.

"You look great, just like me. If I wasn't having a panic attack I might be jealous," Rose joked.

Mia smiled, understanding her enough.

"What now?"

Rose sighed turning to face me.

"Now we leave and you two wait here until it's time to leave for the city. The question is how do we get out of here."

Ivan smirked tossing an arm around her shoulders. "Like you've never borrowed one of Adrian's cars before."

I smiled remember Rose's unexpected visit to my house about a week ago.

"If he didn't notice before I'm sure he won't notice this time, not until it's too late anyway."

A few minutes later we stood in the garage loading Rose's bags into the trunk. Rose and Mia were talking off to the side of the garage. Ivan leaned against the side of the truck we were "borrowing" as I closed the trunk.

"I've never been good with goodbyes," he says suddenly in Russian.

I glance at him uncertainly. I know that when Ivan is uncomfortable he switches to his native tongue. Sentimental emotional moments were something Ivan and I never shared, even as best friends.

"Are you saying you're going to miss me?" I ask quirking a brow.

"Not if you're not going to appreciate the effort I'm putting into this sappy moment."

"It's kind of hard to show my appreciation, knowing how awkward this moment is becoming."

"You're girlfriends doubts are starting to affect me. I can't help it. She knows how to work the emotional angle. Even mine," he grumbles rolling his eyes.

"I'll be fine. Rose and I will both be fine. You worry about Mia and yourself."

He takes a deep breath and pats my shoulder walking toward Mia and Rose.

"You better make it out of this country alive because if Adrian catches you two…"

He lets the sentence trail off from there leaving my imagination to fill in all of the possible scenarios.

"Ready, girls?"

Rose and Mia share a glance. Rose hugs her tightly and turns to Ivan.

"You said you're not the hugging type," she smiles.

"Didn't stop you before."

She gives him a quick hug and then climbs into the passenger seat. Rose watches Mia and Ivan in one of the side mirrors until I turn onto a different street and she can't see them anymore. She leans her head back against the seat reaching for my hand across the console.

"This is it."

She whispers more to herself than to me. I focus on the road but manage to grab a hold of her hand and squeeze it.

"Me and you," she whispers. "I have to be honest though. I still think you're making a mistake by putting yourself in the middle of all of this."

"I was already in the middle of everything when I dropped that piece of plywood on your head."  
She laughs at my little joke.

"You still could've gotten away from me. I think you became involved when you realized what an amazing, deep, and beautiful person I am when we were walking back from that trip into the village."

It seems so long ago that everything was so simple. Now we were planning an escape and trying to avoid being killed. I realize then that even with all of the sudden change and increasing hardships, I'm not sure I'd wish my life were any different.

Maybe my grandmother and my mother were right and this was all a test and fate was trying to pull Rose and I together. It all feels too complicated and confusing so I shake the thought away and continue driving.


	21. It's Better Than Nothing

"I'm so happy to see you."

My mother smothers Rose into a one of her tightest hugs. Rose patted her reassuringly that she was all right and probably hoping she'd loosen a bit so that she could get some air. She looks to me for help but I can't help but smile at the pained expression on Rose's face from my mother's grasp.

"I'm all right Mama Belikov," Rose said hoarsely. "Really."

My mother pulled Rose far enough away from her self to look her over.

"I'm glad. You could use a good meal though," she commented turning Rose from side to side. "I'm really ashamed of myself. We all are," she says suddenly serious.

Rose looked confused.

"Why? You didn't do anything."

My mother hung her head low and sighed. "For a while, after the car accident, I thought it was best if maybe Dimitri and you were apart."

Rose's round eyes softened knowingly. "I know. I understand, though. If it was my family I would've done the same thing."

"Well, you should probably know that now, we are supporting you one hundred percent and we are going to help you by any means necessary. You are family and we don't turn away family. Family is thicker than blood."

Rose's cheeks lifted into a smile. "Thank you, really. I still think this is way too dangerous-"

She waved Rose's words off. "I raised a good son, a big six foot seven son that is more than capable of protecting someone, especially the woman he loves."

Rose laughed looking at me for reassurance of my love.

"It's true," I told her.

My mother clapped excitedly and looked from me to Rose.

On a lighter note my mother said smiling, "Besides, I always love new additions to our large family."

She was quick to grab another hug out of Rose before moving toward the refrigerator pulling food out left and right. I pulled Rose toward me and she rested against my chest against my heart. I was never really one to imagine myself in any type of real relationship nor had I ever really experienced the strong feelings that were building up inside of me but if I had to pick one of those few perfect moments out of the many terrible moments, this was one of them. Having Rose so close that we were practically molded into one being was one of the best feelings in the world, despite the fact that my mother was a countertop away.

"Well, everyone else is at school and work but maybe that's for the better. The fewer people that know what's going on the better," mom said making some huge meal. "So what's the plan so far?"

I explained everything that happened and what our plans were.

"The beginning of my plans mostly involved getting Rose out of that house to get her here," I admit.

I hadn't really thought beyond that.

"I'm just glad you got me out," Rose said, reaching for one of the cucumbers my mother was chopping.

"I think the only thing we can do next is to get Rose as far away from Baia as possible. Maybe even out of Russia," mom proposed.

I sighed suddenly thinking of how homesick I'd felt when I'd first left my family to live out on my own. I was younger then, and alone. Now I had someone to travel with I had a few more years of experience as a young adult.

I was worried what troubles awaited us once Adrian or Abe had discovered we'd left.

"I figured."

Rose, noticing the sadness in my voice, looked up at me. She held her hand against my cheek.

"You don't have to leave," she assured me.

I realized then that she had interpreted my sigh a snot wanting to leave.

"We stay together, Rose," I reminded her. "I was just thinking how difficult it would be for everyone that still here once it's realized that we're gone."

She relaxed a bit, falling against me.

She was as afraid of being alone in the world as much as I was afraid of being without her.

"We can handle things here. You just think about where you two are going to go," my mother said.

"I'd like to go home more than anything," Rose mumbled.

"Where's home?"

"Montana," she answered my mother.

I remembered Rose story about her family and how often they moved but Montana was the home they had returned to.

"That might be a good idea. You're family with the area there and you can find a safe place to hide until we think of a more permanent plan," my mother suggested.

"I think the more permanent plan involves finding enough proof or evidence and maybe people to help us bring down Abe and Adrian," I pointed out.

"Well he has plenty of enemies in Montana. Once he realized his businesses were failing, he ripped off and fired all of his employees and I'm pretty sure he owes money to a loan shark or two, people who agreed to support him in the elections so long he did a few favors for them. At least that's what I heard when he was talking to Adrian the other night," Rose explained.

"But won't he anticipate that we'll head home to Montana. It's too obvious a place."

"Maybe, maybe not. There's nothing there for me except really bad memories." She stared down at her hands remembering. I hugged her closer trying to send her as much comfort as I could. "I'd love to see my sibling's graves. If I 'm going to go on the run or whatever it is we're doing, I'd like to see their graves at least once in my life."

"You've never visited?" I asked curious.

She shook her head. "Lissa was buried so quickly in a private ceremony because the police were already investigating my father somewhat for money laundering or something but they had nothing concrete to arrest him. They told everyone that she hit her head, which isn't technically a lie," she muttered. "I wasn't allowed to go see her. I'm lucky they even buried her at all instead of having one of their mob friends do their dirty work but you know my parents, it's all about show."

"And your brother?"

"I don't know. I only know they buried Lissa. She was the popular one. Andre stayed on the sidelines, few friends."

"It wouldn't hurt to make a pit stop to Montana and then you two can move on to a bigger city like New York or Los Angeles," my mother said. "You might find something that can help you along the way."

"Sounds like a plan. Somewhat of a plan anyway," I decided.

"So we're going home?" Rose asked hopeful.

I nodded.

Her face lit up. "This could work. Maybe we could get the police there to help us. We could tell them what happened. They were already suspicious of Abe."

"I hope so." I turned to my mother who was shoving plastic food ware into a large recyclable grocery bag.

"And what are you doing?"

"You can't leave here on an empty stomach, Dimka! What kind of mother or future mother-in-law would that make me?" she asked incredulous.

Rose laughed; reaching for one of the Tupperware my mother had left out full of fruit. She chewed on an apple slice happily. I thought about how weird it would be taking care of someone new, someone I was still getting to know but knew I loved.

I was willing to take all of these chances though. My family was more than capable of taking care of themselves. I was strong because of them and now I had to move on to help someone else.

This plan we had, had a few holes but I had hope that it would work. At least it was a plan. It was better than nothing.

"I'm still worried about leaving you guys here," I said turning to my mother.

"Oh, Dimka! We survived your father didn't we?" My mother said tucking a handful of sandwiches into more Tupperware.

"After I beat the hell out of him," I mumbled.

Rose sat up looking from me to my mother. "This is a story I definitely have to hear."

"If we survive this, I'll be sure to tell it to you."


	22. Goodbyes

I was upstairs in my room rushing to pack a bag when Victoria came home with Paul and Zoya. They were always the first to come home after Victoria picked them up from daycare after school. I could here them come into the house asking why there was a strange car parked in the driveway.

I could also hear my mother vaguely explaining what was going on and the long silence afterward.

Rose sat at the head of my bed fiddling with Pepper's ears. She was listening to the commotion downstairs too, I could tell.

I'd been worried before about leaving so much behind but I didn't really stop to think about saying goodbye. I was never good with goodbyes. I never really had to be because I always knew that when I left I'd come home someday but this time I wasn't as confident about my return. Right now the odds were against us and luck was not on our side.

To be honest I doubted if I'd see my family ever again or at least soon.

The sound of footsteps and Victoria and Paul calling my name jarred me from my thoughts.

"Dimka!"

They burst through the bedroom door and stood in the doorway. Zoya came toddling behind them a few moments later and squeezed herself beside Victoria. There were three sets of eyes staring from Rose, to me, and then to the bag on my bed.

"You're leaving?" It was more of a statement but Victoria looked at me pointedly as if for verification.

"You guys-" I tried to start but in all honesty I had no idea where I was going with this.

I took a deep breath, stalling to think of a way to say goodbye without really giving them gravity of the situation. "Come here," I motioned.

Paul stepped forward with Zoya holding his hand. I knelt down to their level but Paul spoke before I could.

"You can't leave, Uncle Dimka."

My sisters used to tease me about being a big softy on the inside, especially when it came to my niece and nephew and right now I knew they were right. With those huge puppy dog eyes that gave Pepper a run for his money I probably would've done or said anything to keeps things the way they were. But somewhere in the back of my mind I was reminded of Rose and the fact that she needed me.

"It won't be long, Paul," I answered in Russian. My words always seemed more reassuring that way.

That was a lie and he could see straight through it, the intelligent seven year old he was.

"You can't leave don't you love of us any more?"

That was a low blow for the doting uncle. I could feel my insides melting and turning to jelly.

"Of course I do, you know that."

"Then why are you leaving?" interjected Victoria also in Russian.

"Didn't you talk to, Mama?"

"Yeah I did and she gave some vague story about you having to go off and leave for who knows how long." She looked from me to Rose and back down to me. "Because of her?"

She didn't say it like she was angry but more like she was putting the pieces together. She nodded knowingly and smiled. "This is your superhero side isn't it?"

"What?" I asked confused. Zoya and Paul had stepped forward to hug me.

"You and your need to do good and help everybody you come into contact with," Victoria smiled.

"I knew you were a superhero!" Paul shrieked.

Rose laughed from her spot on the bed.

I thought about ignoring the superhero comment all together but then I thought I could use it to explain everything so that this situation would make sense.

"Okay, so you think I'm a superhero?"

I couldn't help laughing at Paul and Zoya's eager nod.

"And what do superheroes do?"

"They help people," Zoya put in.

"Yes and there someone right now who needs my help and she means a lot to me."

"Why does she need your help, what's wrong with her?"

"Is she pregnant?" Victoria asked bluntly.

I gave her a warning glare and glanced at a giggling Rose who was trying and not succeeding in hiding her laughter.

"No she is not pregnant," I answered Victoria but I turned back to Paul and Zoya. They'd have a harder time understanding this. "She needs help because there are people who want to hurt her and she needs me…. us to help her."

"How are we going to help? Are we going with you?" Paul asked hopeful.

I shook my head ruefully.

"You are going to help by helping to look after the family while I'm gone. You'll be the only boy left and I need you to help keep an eye on things around here until…until we get back."

I wasn't one hundred percent certain about the last part but I was hoping it wasn't a lie. Paul seemed to buy it enough though and took my request completely seriously.

"I'll take care of everything until you guys come home."

"What about me? What am I supposed to do?" It was Zoya, holding her tiny fingers in her mouth. She still spoke with that small child like lisp of hers.

"I know that you are going to help Paul and do whatever he says. You'll look after you're mommy and aunt's and Yeva while we're gone too, won't you."

Zoya nodded just as eagerly and I was tackled into a tight hug of small limbs and child like giggles. When they finally let go and I reminded them of how much I loved them Paul, tugging his sister behind them, walked around the bed to Rose.

"I hope you get better and no one hurts you," he says.

"Me too," Rose whispers kneeling to their level.

"You'll come back with Uncle Dimka too?"

Rose paused and glanced at me for help. For a moment she was at as much of a loss for words as I was until she decided wishful thinking was the best way to go. "I hope so."

"Me too," Paul said hugging her.

Zoya moved to hug her and agreed, "Me too."

I stood to Victoria's level and sighed.

"You've been quiet. That's rare for you," I noted.

"Just thinking about how I'm going to redecorated your room while you're gone," she lied. I could hear the hitch in her voice and tears were welling in her eyes, so similar to mine, but she wiped them away before any fell.

"Liar."

She nodded and hugged me, crying into my shoulder.

"You're not coming back anytime soon are you?" she whispered.

It was a moment before I answered. Victoria and I had been close because we were the youngest just as Karolina and Sonya were close because they were the oldest. We could all relate to each other. We fought, as most siblings do, but it was mostly because we never really had to face the prospect of being separated. Sure, I had gone off on my own for a little while but it was always certain I'd come back.

This time was different.

Everything was changing.

"I'm not sure," I answered honestly.

She sighed before letting go and wiped away at the few tears that had fallen.

"You better," she warned. "Or so help me I will paint this room pink and then you and your future wife and little rugrats will have to sleep in an entirely hot pink bedroom."

"What is it with you and mama and planning my future?" I didn't even know where I was going to be for certain tomorrow. How is it my sister and mother seemed so confident in my future having a good outcome?

"Yeva," she answered automatically. She glanced at Rose who was still talking to Paul and Zoya, petting Pepper. "You must reeeeally love her to give all of this luxurious life up," Victoria said gesturing all around us.

"I do," I laughed.

"And you're sure she's not pregnant?"

I just smiled, shaking my head, before hugging my young sister once more.

"I'll miss you, Vika," I told her.

"I know."

I zipped up my bag, tossing it over my shoulder.

"We should probably go," I told Rose. She nodded.

"You'll take care of him too won't you? I mean, I know he's your dog in the first place but I'll miss him," she said hugging Pepper around the neck,

Paul put a hand around the dog. "He'll be here when you get back Aunt Rose."

Rose's face brightened at the endearing nickname and she nodded before standing.

"I know he will."

We gave them all last hugs, one last look around the room and headed downstairs.

"Ready to go?" My mother asked standing near the front door.

"We're ready," I breathed. I realized that once I stepped over that thresh hold I'd be leaving behind my old life completely and stepping into a new one.

My mother grabbed the both of us for one last hug.

"Remember, Dimka, take care of her and yourself. We'll be here when you get back," she whispered.

She gave as little push forward out the door.

We climbed into the car, ready to leave.

I started the engine and suddenly it was official. This was it. No small town with familiar people I knew and my family I'd see everyday. I was doing something I used to dream so much about: I was leaving home for the big world and I was fighting the urge to not look back.

* * *

_**A/N: Not one of my better, more exciting chapters (especially since I haven't Updated in a while) but it kind of ties up a few temporary loose ends.**_


	23. Couple's Conversation

"Nervous?"

Rose was practically trembling. She was wearing my coat and was sitting close enough next to me to feel my body heat so I knew she couldn't be cold.

"No I've flown on planes before."

"I meant about leaving Russia," I laughed.

She didn't answer for a while and for a moment I thought she might've fallen asleep. I couldn't check her face, buried in my neck, to be sure.

"A bit. I wonder if Ivan and Mia are okay," she whispered.

Everyone else on the plane was asleep.

I wanted to be able to reassure her completely but the truth was I wondered the same thing since we left. If I couldn't completely reassure her I decided to distract her. I took her hand and kissed it.

I felt her smile against my neck.

"Dimitri Belikov, are you trying to flirt with me?"

"Definitely," I breathed. "Is it working?"

"A little bit too well." She shuddered against me, this time I'm sure not from the cold or her nerves. Her hand moved slowly from resting gently on my chest downward, the tips of her fingers unbuttoning the top buttons of my shirt, brushing my skin.

"We're on a public plane, Roza," I warned her, fighting off a tremble of my own.

"This is our chance to become apart of the Mile High Club," she laughed.

This is one of those moments when my conservative side comes out. I laugh nervously and pat her leg.

"Tempting."

"But not tempting enough to stop you from being a unadventurous prude?" she guessed, amusement clear in her voice.

"We're on a plane with…hundreds of other people. I'd like to think that when the time comes that we…consummate our relationship it would be in private…and horizontal."

I cough, trying to clear my throat. I was suddenly having a flashback to the time Victoria sent Paul to ask me what sex was.

"_When _the time comes? You sound pretty confident in yourself Belikov," she said, a smile in her voice.

"I mean if…I'm not pressuring you or anything like that-"

"Relax, Dimi," she laughed. "I was messing with you."

"Besides. I think it's kind of sweet, the whole one on one privacy thing."

"Why did you have something else in mind that does involve public places?"

I felt her body shake as she laughed against my shoulder.

"I guess this is where I'm like most other girls. I want it to be special and with someone I love and that someone is you Mr. Belikov," she said raising her head to look me in the eye, resting her chin on my shoulder.

Her hair was sort of sticking out at all end son one side and her brown eyes looked tired but she still had that certain form of beauty. It was unexplainable.

"You sure have a lot of nicknames for me today," I commented.

"Yeah, well, Dimitri is a mouthful especial when you're tired," she croaked, her eyes closing as she started to lay her head against me again. "You didn't hear what I said before, did you?" she giggled a moment later.

"That my name is a mouthful, even though it's only three syllables," I pointed out. "Your full name is three syllables."

"Yeah but you call me Rose or Roza, even though Rose is shorter. And that's not what I was talking about."  
I replayed out very recent conversation in my head focusing on everything Rose said.

It took me a moment to realize what it was exactly. I froze as she lifted her head up again, smiling.

"The part about you wanting…s-special," I stammered.

She nodded, clearly amused whenever I was uncomfortable. I had the sneaking suspicion she put my in awkward positions on purpose, to see me squirm for her own twist enjoyment.

She nodded. "Unlike you, I am pressuring you to sleep with me."

"Why?" I asked confused.

It wasn't like I hadn't thought about it. But with everything going on and our recent declaration of love for one another, sex had been the furthest thing from my mind.

I had the feeling it was the opposite for Rose. First meeting her, I had assumed she was a generally flirtatious person with the natural ability to show her sensuality.

She proved my assumptions right with her bold personality and every eager touch and kiss.

And the fact that she wanted us to 'be alone' in a public bathroom a few thousand feet in the air.

"In case you haven't notice, we're somewhat of an unconventional couple."

"We're normal, we just met under unconventional circumstances," I corrected.

"Exactly," she agreed. "All of my life I've had to live with the idea that I might die sooner than expected, not knowing what'll happen to me-"

"Everyone lives with that feeling, Roza," I reassured her.

"I know but everyone isn't running from her evil parents and fiancé."

I cringed at both of those references.

"We don't know what'll happen to us once we get off of this plane or if we'll be able to fix all of my problems. I don't want to die or have anything happen to us before we were really able to be together."

I set down the book I'd been flipping through and adjusted so that I could lift my arm around Rose and hold her closer than before.

I understood her reasons for wanting to move so quickly.

Our life span was seemingly shorter than the average persons.

"Roza, less than a few hours ago we told each other that we loved each other. Did you mean it?"

"Of course!" she almost shouted in offense.

"So did I." I sighed realizing we couldn't pretend everything would be okay. We had to be realistic if we were going to get through this. "Look, I made you multiple promises that I would protect you and everything will be alright. I meant the first part. I will always protect you or at the very least, do the best I can. I can't promise you this will be easy or that we'll come out of this alright. And remember that you're not alone in this. Your problems are my problems now too."

"I know, Dimi. And it's because of that…things are different for us. I'm not saying we have to…_consummate_ our relationship right now," she said, laughing at the use of my word.

I couldn't help laughing myself.

The topic itself seemed insignificant compared to everything else that was going on around us but I couldn't help but admit that just for a moment, we were having an actual conversation hat didn't involve psycho abusive and crazy controlling parents. We were having one of those couple conversations Karolina and Sonya used to talk about when they were younger.

I was happy my Rose was smiling and that we could share a brief moment without the weight of the world on our shoulders.

Rose spoke again a moment later as she relaxed, again, resting against my shoulder.

"I just hope we don't wait too long."

_Me too_, I thought to myself realizing Rose had a point. We would only be safe and together for so long despite my promises.

* * *

_**A/N: I know, a very short chapter even though it's been so long since my last update. School is suffocating but since the semester is only 23 days from ending, I should be able to update more. I still appreciate all the awesome (and funny) reviews and fans!**_


	24. Welcome to the City of Woodland

'Welcome to Woodland, Montana' the sign read as we drove past.

I glanced at Rose whose lips tugged with a slight smile and just as quickly it fell.

"You okay, Roza?"

She turned to face, a little surprised to find that I'd been watching her. I couldn't help worrying how she'd react to being back at home where her some of her worst memories were created. She barely said a word since we'd landed a few hours ago. The only time she spoke was to comment on the mini I'd considered renting at the airport.

"_Really? A mini van? What are you, a soccer mom?" She asked leaning back on the chair she'd been sitting on. I could tell she was still tired and exhausted with a little hint of worry. _

_I wanted to get her someplace safe where we could go worry free for a few hours. _

"_This car place has a limited amount of cars. It's just as small as Baia's," I replied. _

_She muttered," No place is as small as Baia. There's a nice Honda over there."_

"_Does it really matter?"_

"_I can't be seen in a minivan!"_

"_We should inconspicuous anyway. We want as few people as possible to know you're back home. We don't know who your father has looking for us," I reasoned._

"_You think they've already noticed we're gone."_

"_I think we should assume the worst," I told her honestly. _

_She exhaled; shivering, but nodded, knowing I was right. We couldn't pretend we'd run away and left all of our problems behind. We had to be realistic. _

_I pulled my coat off and wrapped it around her shoulders, zipping her up. She was now wearing a couple of her own coats, layered up but she couldn't seem to get warm._

"_You lived in Baia for a couple of months and you find Montana, freezing?" I teased._

"_I'm not like you, abominable snowman," she shot back laughing. _

_I was glad I'd cheered her up. _

_I kissed the top of her head holding her closer to me. "So which car will it be? The soccer mom van or the Honda?"_

"_How about a convertible?"_

"_Do you know the meaning of conspicuous?"  
"I guess it doesn't matter so long as it takes us where we need to go," she sighed._

"_Are you ready for this?"_

_She nodded snuggling deeper into the coat I'd wrapped around her. "I was excited about coming home, being away from Russia for a while but now that we're here…"_

"_It's different," I agreed. _

"_I think the sooner we get there the quicker…the closer we'll be to all of this being over."_

"_Agreed."_

"_So…where exactly do we start?" She asked confused, looking to me as if I had all of the answers. She had a point though. We'd been so quick to leave Russia that we hadn't really thought about our next move once we landed. Even on the plane I'd been preoccupied by our private conversation and worrying over Ivan, Mia and pretty much everyone we'd left behind._

"_Well, I think a good place to start would be to find someone. You said the police were looking into your father."_

"_Yeah but that was a while ago, before we moved to Baia."_

"_Your father leaves lasting impressions. I'm sure his case hasn't been shelved," I said dryly._

"_Good point," she nodded. "The detective on the case was a relative of our maid."_

_I raised my brows at the mention of a maid. _

"_Don't look surprised. We're wealthy…or at least I used to be. I'm not really sure where I stand financially now but I doubt my parents are eager to give me any more money. But anyway," she went on. "I was really close with our maid Alberta and when Andre and Lissa were both gone she was trying to protect me and help but we moved before anything could happen. I haven't seen or spoken to her since," she told me. Her voice drifted off with each word, saddened. "For I know she could be dead."_

"_Don't loose hope. She's probably still alive."_

_She gave me an obvious eye roll and scoffed._

"_You're father doesn't like to get rid of people without good reason, he's meticulous and careful. Was Alberta in the house when…" I didn't have to finish the sentence._

_Rose shook her head and then stopped._

"_I-I don't remember. I don't think so."_

"_Then he'd have no reason to get rid of her."_

"_Loose ends, Dimitri," she said dryly. "My father is careful, yes, but he's not a risk taker."_

"_We're speculating. The only person who really knows your father is your father."_

"_I doubt he's going to help," Rose laughed sarcastically. _

"_Did your maid live with you?" I asked ignoring her diminishing hope._

"_No she wasn't a live-in. She had her own place a few miles into town, the bad part. Abe didn't pay his employees very much, only to keep people quiet."_

"_Do you remember where?"_

"_Yeah she used to take me there when everyone else was away doing who knows what." I watched as Rose sort of spaced out most likely replaying old memories in her had, a few good ones that didn't outweigh the bad ones._

"_Then I think we have our next move," I reassured her bringing her back to the present. _

I glanced at her now still waiting for her to respond to my previous question. I wondered when her mood had shifted again and why I didn't notice.

"I'm fine," she murmured.

Her short answer unsettled me. I felt uneasy knowing something was wrong I couldn't do anything to help. Rose seemed to sense my unease along with her own. She snuggled up closer across the front seat of the Honda I agreed on renting.

She lifted the console and leaned against me. I could still feel her trembling, either from the cold, fear, or a mixture of both I don't know.

I could understand that she needed a little time to adjust and get through the memories she was undoubtedly remembering in silence as we drove through such high class suburban neighborhoods I'd only seen in movies and read about in books. The houses were elaborate, floor to ceiling windows and light shining through making it easy for passersby to peer in.

After a file more miles the houses became scarce and started to disappear altogether.

"You told me to just follow the main roads but…we're running out of houses, Roza."

"You'll see it," she said knowingly.

"See what?"

When she didn't answer I was about to ask again what it was I was looking for when it appeared.

The city lights, buildings and skyscrapers nearly as tall as they were back home but less sparkling at night. It was almost ten o'clock at night here. In Russia the cities almost never slept but here it seemed things were winding down.

At least that's the impression I got from high above the city on one of the highways but once we'd actually started driving through the streets I could see people all around, out and about.

The further we drove into the city the less nicer the buildings and people became. It changed from beaming high-rise apartments, to simple family owned shops. The cars went from shiny BMW's and Mercedes' to rusted vans and box looking cars. The people shifted from nicely dressed business outfits and overcoats to fake furs and exotic patterned clothes, less sophisticated but simple.

"Welcome to the City of Woodland," Rose said sitting up.

She watched the passersby on the street through the window.

"Seems like every other city. The only difference is I don't know where I'm going," I tried to joke.

"I remember she lives near the harbor but I can't remember how to get there. We could ask for directions," she suggested.

"Or we could just drive toward the harbor until something looks familiar," I countered.

"What is it with men and not wanting to stop with directions!" she exclaimed laughing for the first time in a while. I relished in the sound of her voice, feeling my own smile spread across my face.

"What is it with women and always wanting to stop for directions?" I asked chuckling. "I just think it's best if we talk to as few people as possible."

"I think we're being a bit too paranoid. It's not strangers or going to see our faces and go off and tell my father."

"It's the affect your parents and Ivashkov had on me," I muttered.

"Good point. And this is a relatively small city and I'm pretty well known."'

"Really?"  
"Don't act so surprised I come from a prominent, shady family, here in Woodland."

"Kind of a weird name for a city, Woodland."

She scoffed, leaning back in her seat. "As if Baia is a better name."

"'Woodland'?" I emphasized. "We're in a city meaning buildings. I have yet to see one tree."

"We're a city surrounded by trees," she pointed out. "What is a 'Baia' anyway?"

"It translates to bath or bay in Romanian," I reluctant revealed.

She giggled. "So you lived in a bath?"

I didn't see what was so funny but as usual I couldn't fight laughing with her.

We drove through the streets closer to the harbor until Rose pointed out a building, rundown surrounded by mostly abandoned warehouses, that looked familiar to her.

"I think this is it," she said sounding hopeful and unfastening her seatbelt.

"Alright let me just park the car hidden away. This neighborhood doesn't look safe."

"Ah, it's finally happened."

"What has?" I asked pulling the car over onto a one-way street.

"You're starting to think and worry like a wealthy person. I knew if you stayed with me long enough it would eventually happen. You're worried about your car in a neighborhood that looks like the breeding ground for car thieves."

"Get out of the car, Rose," I chuckled shaking my head.

We walked to the front doors of the building, unlocked.

"I didn't figure this neighborhood for safety," I said as we ascended the stairs, met with the worst of smells.

"I'm surprised, Dimi. You come from a lower class part of your village. I didn't figure you one for judging and worrying based on appearances."

"Hey," I said, grabbing her hand, stopping her on the stairs. "I'm just looking out for you, Roza. I can't help being overprotective."

She smiled down at me; loose strands from her ponytail framing her face. I could tell she was exhausted from the long uncomfortable flight and the long flowing skirt and blouse she'd been wearing looked disheveled.

She was still amazingly beautiful to me, stunning. I couldn't help but grab her by the waist, pulling her down to my level and kissing her right there on the world's filthiest staircase.

She locked her hands in my hair, loose from where I'd tied it back. I could feel the quick breaths she took the split seconds our lips parted, her chest rising and falling against my own. For a moment, just a moment, I forgot where we were. I relished in the thought that for a moment we weren't a young, somewhat unconventional couple on the run for our lives…literally.

Rose seemed to have that affect on me and by the gleaming, dreamy, dazed look in her eyes when we finally pulled apart it seemed I had the same affect on her.

"I think I'm starting to really enjoy this being overprotective thing," she whispered, her lips tickling my own. "Maybe we can see how good of a bodyguard you are later."

I didn't have a response for that one, aloud anyway. On an emotional, mental and physical level, though, I was in full agreement and completely okay with that idea.

I'd had similar feeling on the plane after our little discussion.

I had to force myself to remember that we had a more pressing matter on our hands. I used the awful smell of the building to focus.

"Let's go," Rose said smiling. She pulled me by one of the hands I hadn't realized moved from her waist up the back of her shirt and led me up stairs to the top floor.

We made it to what seemed to be the only door on the top of the floor. Rose knocked, waited for a response, and knocked again.

"You know it's late. Maybe she's asleep."

"Or dead," she mumbled darkly. "You worry about what time it is now?"

"I was preoccupied in case you hadn't noticed."

"I know I'm a distraction. It isn't easy having handful of all of this awesomeness"- she gestured to her body – "and a face full of Rose but-"

The door of the apartment cracking open and a face appearing through the crack cut her off.

"Whose there?" a frightened voice asked.

"Alberta, it's me, Rose."

Any joking and light atmosphere from before seemed to fade. It had to be all serious now.

The face in the door shook and started to close the door.

"Impossible," she whispered.

"No wait, please, Alberta, it's really me. I can prove it."

The woman signed, resigning, and opened the door the rest of the way. She was a stout woman with graying hair, crows' feet near her dark eyes, and laugh lines. She was dressed in a maid's uniform, a thick sweater around her shoulders.

"Why would you come here? You got away!" the woman shouted.

Rose trembled in front of me shaking her head confused.

"What are you-"

"You shouldn't have come here. It isn't safe-"

Rose cut the woman off with a tight hug.

The woman was frozen in the hug. It took a few moments for the woman to react, pulling Rose away from her to get a good look and then pull her close against her chest again for another hug.

"I missed you. I came here to see if you were okay…" She pulled away, still embraced at the arms. "And to ask for your help."

The woman stared at Rose as if trying to absorb and memorize her every feature, as if it was too unreal the she stood here. I found myself doing something similar whenever given the chance. This stare of disbelief matched that of a worried mother.

Alberta looked at Rose a moment longer and then to me. She seemed to silently accept that I was a friend and not a foe and nodded down looking back at Rose again.

"Come in, come in."


	25. Unbelievable

"I still can't believe you're truly here," Alberta expressed pouring a few cups of hot tea.

She set it down on a short coffee table in front of us and sat in simple chair across from where Rose and I sat on a white sofa.

The apartment shared similarities with it's exterior. The walls were bare, damaged, the windows either painted over or boarded up. The majority of the furniture was covered in sheets except for a table in the kitchen with papers and photos splayed out on the top.

"Me either. It feels so weird. I remember coming here," Rose said looking around the room and then settling her gaze on Alberta. "I've missed you so much Alberta."

I wondered why Rose hadn't mention Alberta before. She seemed to mean so much to her and then I figured that remembering Alberta was so painful Rose decided to not mention her at all or maybe Alberta was one of the few happy memories she kept to herself, to keep herself going, the same way I often focused on Rose to keep me going or on places I've never been that I plan on going someday with Rose hopefully by my side, knowing my family and everyone I care about is safe.

"This is Dimitri by the way," Rose introduced suddenly remembering I was a complete stranger to this woman. "Dimitri this is the woman…I practically consider my mother."

Alberta's cheeks pinked and she waved Rose's comment away. "You give me too much credit."

"I don't give you enough."

"You forget I couldn't protect you from letting them take you away," Alberta said grimly.

"No one could stop them."

"But we're trying to," I piped in speaking directly to Alberta. "And we need your help."

"The best way to help yourself would've been to avoid coming here."  
"We didn't know where to start. I have to stop my father. Just like we used to talk about when I was younger. I'm finally trying to break free of them and get away but I need you to help me. I don't have many people willing to help me but I know you're one of the one's I can count on."

Alberta seemed to soften.

"The last time you tried to leave Lissa-"

"I know," Rose said glumly. "And it's my fault."

"Don't think that," Alberta and I said in unison.

"I'm not blaming you for her death. I'm just saying I do not want you to suffer the same fate."

"And she won't. If you really care about Rose you'll do anything to help us," I told her directly.

It took a moment but Alberta nodded. "Okay. It won't be easy though, especially with a price over your head."

"What!" Rose and I shrieked.

Alberta set her teacup down and looked up surprised.

"You haven't heard? It's all over town, this part of town anyway. A reward has been offered to anyone that can find and bring you back. The price is doubled if you're alive, tripled if your accomplice is brought back with you and quadrupled if you are both alive," she explained.

"It's reassuring to know that they care so much about us that their willing to pay so much," Rose said after a stiff moment of silence.

"Quite the compliment," I couldn't help adding. "I knew it'd be a bit obvious where it was we might go but I would never have guessed that our absence would be noticed so quickly."

"I wonder if that means Ivan and Mia were caught," Rose whispered worriedly.

Alberta looked confused.

We took the time to fill her in on exactly everything that happened up until our arrival at the airport.

"It seems you two have had quite the adventures in such a short time," she exhaled once we'd finished.

"You have no idea," said Rose.

"I don't think we'd be in this if I hadn't of told you everything. If you remained oblivious and unaware you wouldn't be involved," Rose sighed as she moved a bit closer to me. "They're probably going to bump you off the same way they got rid of Lissa and Andre," she added.

Alberta sat up a little straighter, confused.

"You think Andre is dead?"

"Because he is," Rose said firmly. And then she sat up, curious by the tone in Alberta's voice. "He is dead," she tried to reaffirm but she didn't sound so sure.

"I thought he would've told you, contacted you or something. He said he's been with you." She was speaking more to herself than to us now. "I assumed, when my nephew told me of the price out on your head that Andre was your accomplice but it's you, Dimitri, isn't it?"

"Okay I'm lost," Rose said.

Alberta stood, walked to the table where the papers were spread out, and came back with a single sheet of paper and a handful of photos.

She handed the paper to Rose and the photos to me. There was the same young man in each of them. He had similar brown eyes to Rose and wavy dark brown hair. The photos weren't the family kind, friendly or smiling but taken as if he didn't know they were being taken.

"W-what is this?" Rose asked running her eyes down the paper. I peered over her shoulder after flipping through the photos.

"It's exactly what it says it is. A description of your brother's _injuries_," Alberta told us emphasizing the last word. Her brow furrowed curious and confused. "Do you remember exactly what happened the night Lissa was killed?"

Rose was trembling, the paper swaying in her hand.

She managed to shake her head no. I wrapped my arm around her trying to keep her calm but I had a feeling whatever point Alberta was trying to make would only have the opposite affect.

"Tell me, what you remember, Rose."

I held Rose as comforting as I could but I realize this was something Rose had to work out herself for the news to completely sink in.

"I r-remember Lissa… I screamed when she h-hit the floor and…she wouldn't get up. I was crying…I thought Abe was coming for me next until Andre…and then…"

Alberta, seeing Rose was a few moments from a complete breakdown, decided to help her.

"Abraham and Andre were fighting and Abraham hurt him too," she said asking for confirmation from Rose that she remembered.

Rose nodded between her sobs.

"It's okay, I'm right here," I told her smoothing my hand down her hair. She clenched my hand with that surprising strength of hers.

"Andre was dead, I saw him," rose said sounding so sure of herself.

"You saw him fall. Your parents thought he was dead too but when they realized he was alive your mother forced your father to put him the hospital instead of killing him and much to your father's luck, they were told by doctor's that Andre would most likely never recover."

In a weird way I could kind of sympathize on why Janine seemed like such a cold and distant woman.

"How do you know all of this?" I asked.

"You hear and see a lot of things as a maid," she said coyly. "Not to mention I'd already asked my nephew to look into your father's activities to help you Rose but it was too late. You and your family were already gone by the time he had decided to question your parents. He did, however, find your brother, in the hospital. He assumed your parents either didn't have the heart to kill their only son, tying up a loose end, or that it'd look too suspicious, especially with the police already looking into them."

Rose's sobs had quieted but silent tear fell down her cheeks.

"I- I don't know what it is you're trying to tell me," she whispered.

"Yes, you do, Rose."

She shook her head profusely refusing to believe.

"All this time…no…all of this time…Andre has been alive?"


	26. Surprised

"It doesn't make any sense."

Rose was standing now, pacing the small living room.

Alberta and I shared a silent agreement to let it all sink in. It wasn't everyday someone found out a relative presumed dead is actually alive.

I couldn't imagine what she was feeling; confused, hurt, betrayed, happy?

If anything she had to feel the same I often did lately, that I was living in a soap opera or that this was all a very vivid dream.

After allowing Rose a chance to pace for a while Alberta spoke first.

"Think about it, Rose. Did you ever here of a funeral for your brother?"

Rose through up her hands exasperatedly. "I don't know! My parents aren't exactly forth coming and never have been unless it was apart of some diabolic evil plan. I'm lucky they even told me my name is Rose!" She relaxed a little her voice lowering. "It's not like I was allowed to Lissa's funeral. I figured Andre's funeral was out of the question too so I didn't even bother asking. I accepted he was dead and tried to move on."

"But he's not! He can help…more than I can," Alberta was explaining taking on one of those mother tones I was so fond of.

Rose sat beside me and buried her face in her hands.

Alberta stood and sat on the other side of Rose wrapping a gentle arm around her.

"I know it's hard but you have to accept this quickly, Andre is alive. He's been keeping an eye on you from afar."

Rose lifted her head from her hands.

"You talk to him?"

Alberta shook her head gently. "My nephew Eddie, ever since he realize Andre was alive, has been keeping tabs on him. I've only spoken to him once, when I helped release him from the hospital."

"I don't understand how Andre is supposed to help. He never helped me before. He never even cared about me before."

Alberta's face shifted from shocked to disbelieving. "If that were true he wouldn't have ended up in the hospital-"

"He only ended up in the hospital because he was trying to help Lissa."

Alberta seemed to accept this was true and said nothing for a few moments.

I figured now was a good time for me to speak up.

"Roza, you're still his sister and if he's been keeping track of you it must mean he cares about you-"

"Or he wants to make sure I'm dead to get my inheritance," she muttered.

I decided only a heart to heart would get through to her.

"You're all he has left, Rose. You said before that he didn't really have friends, your parents stuck him away in a hospital and left him as if he never existed and you're the only relatively he has left to rely on. If anything you need each other."  
My words seemed to be getting through enough to her. Her shoulders relaxed a bit and her gaze dropped.

Another few moments passed where Rose was given a bit of time to accept a few harsh truths. After a while she sat up straight, after having been leaning on her knees resting her chin on her hands, and placed a hand over Alberta's and my own.

"I guess we know what our next move is then."

We silently agreed.

Rose stood and exhaled deeply.

"You said Andre had been keeping a watch on me. Does that mean he's followed me back here to the states?"  
"I don't know for certain," Alberta shrugged. "From what Eddie has told me he only checks on you occasionally. We'd probably have to contact Eddie to see if he knows where Andre is."

"We?" Rose asked hopeful.

"Your boyfriend here is right," Alberta said glancing at me appraisingly. "If I truly care for you then I will do anything to help you."

Rose smiled at Alberta and then at me, grateful to have at least two people who loved her.

"We should probably start all of this at a decent hour," she pointed out gesturing to a clock.

"I think I'm too anxious to even think about sleep," Rose sighed running a hand through her tangled hair.

"We've come this far. It's been a long two days, Roza. Our troubles can wait a few hours."

The temptation of sleep seemed to pulling at her but she was fighting it.

"I can't sleep until I know Ivan and Mia are okay."

"I can contact them if you have one of their numbers. It would be better that way anyway if…"

I finished the sentence for her. "If they've been caught by Adrian or Abe and they answer the phone."

Rose was still reluctant.

"I will call you once I hear anything," Alberta promised.

"You aren't invincible, Roza. You need sleep."

She nodded, running her hands over her eyes.

I suddenly thought of my own family, worried on how they were faring without me.

"Would you mind checking on my family as well?" I asked standing.

"Of course. Just leave the number. You two should consider where you're going to stay tonight. I'd offer here but it's not exactly fit for anyone to sleep. Not even me."

"Then why do you stay here, live like this?" Rose asked confused and concerned.

"Protection," was all she said.

A handful of emotions washed across Rose's face but she said nothing.

"You can leave the numbers on that notepad over there," Alberta indicated to pad on the table.

Rose moved to write the numbers down.

Alberta went to stand beside her. From where I stood they looked more like mother and daughter than Rose and Janine did. Alberta set her hands on Rose's shoulders once she'd finished writing and looked her in the eye meaningfully, speaking too low for me to hear.

I looked on curios.

As if sensing me Rose looked away from her mother like figure with a slight smile tugging at her lips, confusion showing in her lowered brows and she met my gaze.

She smiled completely and then turned back to Alberta, nodding, giving her hands a quick squeeze at her shoulders before pulling away to stand beside me.

Alberta stood before us, grinning, shifting her dark eyes from Rose to me and back again. She laughed to herself momentarily as if sharing a private secret with herself. Her expression softened into pride and then to seriousness.

"It's cliché to say but tomorrow is the beginning of the end," she said wisely.

She was right. I thought that once I'd left Russia with Rose that it was the beginning of all of our trouble. This moment, knowing we had at least one or two allies on our side and one possible ally from a discovered undead brother, was the beginning.

After a few goodbye hugs and promises to see each other here tomorrow, we left Alberta's apartment. Rose leaned back in her seat shielding her face with her hands once we were back in the car.

"For some strange reason, I thought things would get easier from here. I shouldn't be surprised."

I pulled her hand away from her face and kissed the side of her temple.

"This is gets us one step closer to the end, to finishing this and getting away."

"You know we keep talking about ending this and getting away but we never talk about afterward, what'll happen when all of this is over," she laughed without any humor.

It was true. I figured if I focused on the present I wouldn't have to worry about the future and whether or not this would all end well.

"I know. For now, I think we should be worried about where we're going to stay tonight," I said in the quiet of the car.

She sighed more from exhaustion than anything.

"Yeah." And then she sat up with an idea. "I think I know a place."

"Is it safe?"  
She nodded certainly and, being out of my element, I had no choice but to start the car and follow Rose's directions.

My curiosity getting the better of me, I couldn't help bring up something that had been on my mind since we left Alberta's.

"What did Alberta tell you while you were talking?"

Rose looked over at me in the darkness but I could see her slightly hidden smile.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she said coyly. She leaned over and pressed her lips to my own. I was grateful we were sitting at a stop light although I guessed not even a stop light would've stopped her from distracting me with a kiss.

Too quickly she pulled away, still smiling, settling back into her own seat.

"What was that about?" I asked admittedly confused.

"Nothing," she said in a singsong voice.

"Roza, what going on?" I asked chuckling, mystified.

She simply laughed silently to herself and told me to keep driving.


	27. Truth

"What is this place?" I asked once I pulled the car to a stop shutting off the engine.

Rose shook her head almost in disbelief. "It's changed so much," she said to herself climbing out of the car without answering my question. "It kind of has that teen slasher movie vibe."

I climbed out of the car taking in the one-story house before me. It was simple, white with paneled windows, vines wrapped around and papered the exterior and the grass was overgrown; a house that clearly had been abandoned or never lived in. What amazed me most was the forest of trees behind the house and in the distance I think I could hear water.

I looked away from the house and found Rose standing in front of me watching for my reaction.

"What do you think?"  
From the light in her eyes I could tell this house meant a lot to her. It was a similar look I'd seen when we'd been with Alberta.

"It's amazing. Whose house is this?"  
She skipped to the car, grabbing one of our bags each, and returned, tacking a hold of my hand firmly pulling me behind her.

"Mine," she said matter-of-fact. When I didn't respond she looked back smiling at my surprised expression.

"You're seventeen, how do you have a house? I mean, I'm twenty-four and I'm lucky I have my own room."

As if it should've been obvious she said, "Have you forgotten who my father is? Next to control, money is his favorite thing."

"He bought you a house?" I asked as she fiddled with a key she pulled from her duffle.

"Of course not. I don't even think he knows I have it. I found this place when I was little. I kind of came across it, trying to convince myself to runaway since things were so bad at home but of course I went back home, I was only eight. I decided, though, that if things were too bad at home I'd hide here to have a little alone time. Lissa, wondering where I was always disappearing to, followed me out here one day and she saw how much I loved the house and she bought it for me," she explained as if the concept of her owning a home was so simple.

We stood inside the empty house now. A few of the vines I'd noticed over growing outside found their way into the house and on some of the walls and a section of the roof was missing exposing the night sky giving off the feeling that we were still outdoors.

There was scarce furniture, a chair here and there, a desk, but other than that the place was bare.

I could understand that Rose had wanted a place of her own and she'd found it.

She stood in the middle of the room as if it was the place she'd missed the most, and that we weren't standing in a bare house.

"We'll be safe here. No one knows about this place."

I nodded, wondering if I should point out that it would be like sleeping outside seeing as I assumed there wasn't a bed in the room bedroom I spotted towards the back of the house across from the small kitchen.

As if reading my mind, Rose walked toward me slowly holding my hand again. I felt the warm emanating from her body being so close to my own. Suddenly I forgot about all of my thoughts of being tired and having a moment to rest and was realizing Rose was sharing another personal part of her life with me.

It felt intimate as if we were closer than we'd been moments before.

The same emotions appeared in Rose's bright eyes.

"The bedroom is this way," she indicated her voice a little softer.

I felt myself swallow as she waited a moment for my reaction at an underlying message in her words.

I was too stunned to say anything. I allowed her to pull me along behind her. We walked into the bedroom. The floor was covered in leaves blown in from the wide open window on one side of the room across from a closet and a bathroom; and to my surprise there was actually a bed, a large on, already made.

"Lissa delivered a bed and a few other things for me when she realized how much I love this place," Rose explained moving toward the closet.

I moved to shut the window, closing off the cool air that was blowing into the room. I looked at Rose who'd sat on the edge of the bed looking down at a worn photo. I slowly sat beside her peeking over her shoulder.

It was a photo of longhaired platinum blonde, and the man I'd seen in Alberta's photos, Andre.

Rose unfolded both sides of the photo revealing Janine and Abe.

"Is that Lissa," I pointed to the blonde.

She nodded.

"How does the blonde hair fit into the family genes?"

"My mother's hair dye," she muttered staring down at the photo. She ran her hand over her sister's face and stared longingly at Andre. "Is this all real?" she asked her voice cracking.

I pulled her hair back away from her face and pressed my lips to her temple.

"Do you want the truth?"

She nodded leaning against me.

"This is our reality for now but soon it'll all be over."

"Part of that was a lie wasn't it?" she giggled. "A bit optimistic?"

I chuckled, my body shaking the both of us. "A bit," I agreed. "But I think we could use a bit of optimism right now."

"Definitely," she laughed sitting up. "We can imagine, just for a little while, that we aren't running for our lives but we're enjoying ourselves. I'm not going to mope or be ticked off that Andre is alive…not now anyway, not until I see him. We're not going to worry about anything except each other."

"That sounds like a good temporary plan," I agreed.

She stood in front of me wrapping her arms around my neck. She pressed her warm lips to my own, along my jaw, down my neck, each kiss sending shock waves through my body.

I found my hands around her waist holding her against me, her chest pressed against my own. She pressed closer against me trying to force me back on the bed but I stopped her, locking my hand in her hair, pulling our lips apart.

"Roza," I breathed fighting the urge to let this moment happen, to go on without another thought or unspoken word.

"I want this," she whispered. "With you."

I suppose I should've been anticipating this from our conversation on the plane but to be honest, I was a little blindsided.

Rose was still young, I knew that. I couldn't stop thinking that this wasn't the right moment, that with everything that had happened in the last two and a half days that it should be a day to rest without thinking or worrying.

Rose, as if reading my thoughts, closed her eyes, pressing her forehead against my own.

"I just need…I just need to hear you say it."  
"I love you," I said without a moment's hesitation.

She smiled, her lips widening. "I love you too."

We kissed again, without pulling apart. I took a hold of her shoulders rolling her over so that she lay beneath me on the cool bed. She tugged off my jacket and it fell with a light sound on the floor. Slowly my shirt came off, I pulled off her top and she shuddered beneath me. Her cheeks darkened a little but I caressed my hand along her cheek soothing any worries I had. Her eyes darkened in the dim lighting coming from the moonlight.

She held her hands on either side of my scruffy face pulling me back down to kiss her again.

Slowly our clothes disappeared and we found ourselves beneath the covers of the bed, our breathing the only soft noise in the room besides my heart I felt beating out of my chest.

Despite the coolness of the room I felt nothing but heat against my body everywhere our skin touched. I still lay on top of her forcing her hair away from her face.

"Are you sure about this?" I whispered against her neck. She nodded against the palm of my hand smiling slightly nervous.

"Is now a bad time to ask how many people you've been with before me?"

I froze feeling caught off guard.

She laughed beneath me.

"It's kind of a weird time to ask." I rolled beside her, letting her roll onto my bare arm, our eyes level. "Do you really want the truth?" It seemed I was asking the question a lot tonight.

She paused and then nodded, her attention focused on a shoulder length of my now curly hair.

"Enough to count on one hand," I told her simply.

She smiled. "And from that I'm going to assume you mean zero."  
"You're the only one that matters Roza."

She relaxed a bit smiling. "Isn't that another way of saying I've slept with a lot of people but I'm here with you right now."

"I've slept with three people before you and I am here with you now," I told her meaningfully.

"Good."

She snuggled a little closer, her face buried in my chest.

"So I guess now is a good time to ask you about _your_ past."

She pretended to snore, already asleep.

"Roza," I said warningly. I clutched her bare sides with my hands, tickling her, She squealed burrowing against me to get me to stop.

"Okay! Okay, only two!" she breathed.

I lifted a brow surprised.

"I was neglected, not lonely," she muttered.

It felt a little bit different now. I didn't like the idea of others having come before me. The idea that Rose had a life with other boys, what I hoped were boys and not men, had never really occurred to me. I remembered the way the men at the park had looked at Rose. It was obvious that Rose was beautiful but from the time I'd known her, I'd had my own way of looking at Rose so that, in my own way, she belonged to me.

"I'm here with you now, though," she said turning my words against me. "You weren't my first but you'll be my last."

I liked that promise. "Good," I said using her word.

We both smiled and she gave me a soft long kiss.

"But not tonight," I whispered.

I could see the heaviness of her eyes taking its toll. She was as exhausted as I suddenly felt.

"Tonight's not the night but soon," I told her bringing up our earlier conversation.

She nodded in agreement running her thumb along my lips.

"I really do love you, Dimi," she breathed, her eyes closing.

I tucked the blanket closer around her and held her against me, locking my hands in her hair.

"I know," I laughed.

"Is that all I get," she said waking briefly, one eye opening.

I laughed holding her as close to me as I could wishing this were a moment we could stay in forever. Rose was all I needed right now, the warmth and smell of her, the nice pattern of her slow breaths, her laugh and her bright eyes I could've spent forever staring into. I thought of all this but said none of it aloud but then, staring at Rose I didn't have to.

Not in the long speech I had building in my head were all of my thoughts and words seemed jumbled together.

There were always three little words to sum it all up.

"I love you."

Those words were enough for her to hear to finally relax, close her tired eyes, and fall into a deep sleep, knowing I'd follow soon after.


	28. What Are The Odds

"Where do we even begin?"

Alberta sighed as she set two cups of coffee in front of Rose and I as we sat at her small dining table.

I could understand her question. Where does one begin when trying to save lives by taking down a controlling political monster who was willing to hurt anyone, including his children, to be successful.

I looked over at Rose who was relatively calm, controlled and at ease. She sat with her hands cupping her mug, a slight smile on her face.

My expression turned into one of confusion in trying to discern how she could be in such a good mood...and then I remembered last night.

As if sensing where my thoughts were drifting, Rose looked up at me, meeting my eyes and smiling softly.

There was a change between us since last night.

We'd seen each other in an entirely different way, figuratively and literally.

I had trouble even doing the simplest of tasks this morning when my mind kept drifting to thoughts of Rose's bare body against my own. I thought continuously of what might've happened had we gone all the way. Nothing happened but nothing needed to happen.

Sex wasn't necessary between us because our bond was stronger than that. It sounds a little deep and profound now as I realize all of this but it seems fitting.

Rose is a part of me I never knew I was missing until I'd found her...or until I'd dropped a piece of plywood on her head. She brings me warmth, safety,comfort, companionship I never knew I longed for but now realize I can't live without. I will do any and everything to make sure the love between us lasts.

I reach over a give her hand a squeeze, hoping my small gesture conveys all of my feelings with such a simple touch.

She leans over, kissing my cheek.

She feels it too.

Our love will have to be put on the back burner.

Our focus has to be on the troubles ahead of us or there'll be no love to enjoy in the future.

Alberta sits herself across from us, with a look so similar to Yeva's when she makes one of her predictions that it's startling.

"You two truly care for each other, don't you?"

Rose wraps herself around one of my arms and leans against me.

"What can I say, he couldn't resist me," Rose says in a lighthearted tone.

I think of how much that's true and laugh along with Alberta and Rose .

"So, what are we going to do?" Alberta asked as our laughs sobered and reality set in again. "I spoke to your family, Dimitri," she informed me.

I looked up, hopeful. I immediately started bombarding Alberta with questions. She smiled amusedly and waited until I stopped with my interrogation.

"They're fine. They told me that the only sign of Abe or this Adrian is the guards placed near the house. Which isn't too bad. Could be worse."

"He probably left the guards as a precaution," I noted.

Alberta and Rose both nodded in agreement. I realized how sad it was that I was growing accustomed to ways and methods of Adrian Ivashkov.

Alberta turned to Rose. "Apparently your parents have temporarily left Russia, along with Adrian, which is good news for them but bad news for us. There is some good news though. Your friend Ivan is alive and well with Mia in some far off part of the country, safe. He's been in contact with your family and said something about the benefits of working for the bad guy."

Rose and I both relaxed in relief.

Maybe this was a sign at we might just have A chance at being successful in this entire situation...except for the part about the Mazurs and Adrian leaving Russia.

"Did my family or Ivan happen to mention where exactly they went to?" I asked fearing the answer. I'd always been one to listen to my instincts but as they were telling me the answer to my question, I told my instincts to shut up.

"I think you already know the answer to that," Alberta said glumly without looking up.

They were on their way here.

"I was able to contact my nephew," she continued. "and he says that 'word on the street'," Alberta quoted much to the amusement of Rose and I both. "Is that the bounties on your heads are precautionary until your parents and Adrian land. They intend to capture you both themselves with a team of only two special bounty hunters and a female companion Adrian is traveling with. They seem intent on ending all of this trouble for them as quick and efficient as possible."

"Intent enough to risk leaving Russia so soon after being elected.," Rose pointed out.

"You two must really be a nuisance to their plans."

Rose and I shared a look. "It was unintentional. He dropped that plywood on my head and things went down hill from there," Rose laughed nudging my arm playfully. She pecked my cheek to insure she was joking when I gave her a mock appalled look.

"Well however it happened, I'm glad it did," Alberta smiled. "This could be the start of the end."

"Kind of cliché don't you think ?" Rose asked scrunching up her nose.

"What would be cliché is that right after I say that, there's unexpected surprise-"

There was a soft knock at the door interrupting Alberta. We all looked at each other with shocked and suspicious expressions on our faces.

"What are the odds?" Alberta mumbled making the motions of standing.

"With my luck? Pretty good," Rose answered. She nuzzled closer into me as she shuddered., fearful of the knock at the door.

"It's going to be okay," I automatically assured her.

"How long was the flight from Russia to Montana?" She mumbled.

"Depends on if you're wealthy enough to afford a fast private airplane," I muttered honestly.

"We're screwed."

There was another knock at the door, soft still but persistent.

"One of us should answer it," I said stating the obvious.

"Should we answer it? If people are out to kill you for money, you shouldn't be so eager to open doors, sweetie," Rose said as if I were the most naïve person in the world.

She had a point.

"Is there another way out?" I asked Alberta.

"The window," she said dryly with a hint of sarcasm. I wondered where Rose's dry,sarcastic humor came from. I had my answer. "Might as well head for the window because if those are killers at the door, we're gonna die anyway," she said casually sipping her coffee as there was another knock at the door.

"If I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die pretty and not with a sidewalk stuck to my face. Wont we look stupid if there aren't killers at the door but a neighbor or a Jehovah witness?"

"We'll look dead not stupid," I replied to Rose. "Why would they knock?" I added a moment later.

"To get you to join their religion"

"No, I mean why would a killer knock on the door. As my sister would say, it goes against the rules of horror movies," I amended suddenly missing Victoria very much.

"If you were a killer, would you announce you were a killer to get in the door?" Alberta asked.

"No, i'd wait for us to leave or sneak in."

"Sneak in how?"

"Through the windows," I muttered dryly looking at Alberta who held a smile on her face.

Another knock silenced our weird conversation.

"The potential killer is not going to leave," Rose said suddenly whispering

"It's not like we're whispering," she added.

"I'll open the door."

I patted Rose's hand reassuringly, silencing any protest she was about to dish out, and motioned for Alberta and Rose to stay put while I went to answer the door.

I took a deep breath . I was trying to remember important moments of my life, remembering the 'life flashing before your as your about to die saying.

My mind drew a blank.

I simply had an image of my family and Rose in my head as took another long breath and opened the door.

* * *

_**A/N: I hope the story doesn't have any plot errors as it's been a while since I've updated this story. I thought I could balance multiple stories but I've let you guys down so my plan is to try to eventually finish this story and Twelve Months of the Year so that I can complete the rest of my stories and then start anew. I appreciate all the reviews and support and again, Sorry for my lack of awesomeness as an author.**_


	29. Reunion

I don't give myself a moment's hesitation before opening the door.

I yank it open, ready to take on any threat on the other side.

In front of me stands a tall man, hair thick and dark as Rose's, a shadow of a beard, and a look of both amusement and annoyance on his older face.

It's a moment before I recognized the face I'd only seen in photos that shared some of the stronger features of his family and of the girl I was head over heels in love with.

"You're André?"

"You sound surprised...almost as surprised as I am at how long it took you to open the door and the fact that you opened it without inquiring about who it is."

He walks right past me into the small apartment as he speaks, setting a small bag down on the floor.

He has the same confident air about him as his father.

"We figured if you were a killer it wouldn't matter if we asked who it was, a Jehovah witness we'd send you away, a neighbor we'd invite you in for cookies , and if you weren't a threat then there d be no issue."

It was Alberta who spoke.

She stood , setting her glass in the sink before walking to stand in front of André. I closed the door, locking it, as I looked at Rose who sat in silent shock at the table.

I'd never seen her eyes so wide with her lips slightly parted.

I suppose accepting that your supposedly dead brother is actually alive is harder to do when he's standing right in front of you.

"Long time no see, Alberta," Andre greeted curtly, or maybe that was just the personality in his voice because Alberta smiled, extending her arms out to embrace him.

"I'd asked how you've been but by the looks of this apartment I think I have all of the answer I need," he said pulling back glancing around the apartment.

His comment only confirmed that his confident, rude yet honest attitude was a huge part of his personality.

"You can ask me how I've been but I think we all know that I havent exactly been doing any better so let's leave it at that."

Alberta smiled gently, unsure of what to say. There was a long silence before she tenderly, in a motherly gesture my own mother had done countless times, held his hand to Andre's cheek, staring as if she could see all the pain behind his eyes.

He simply nodded once before gently removing her hand and stepping out of her embrace.

His eyes moved from Alberta's to Rose's, resting on her stunned face, in the same frozen state she'd been in since he stepped through the door.

"Long time no see, hey sis?" He asked by way of greeting.

Her only movement was the clench of her now closed jaw.

André spoken again, this time in Turkish.

The only word picked up on was 'father'.

"He said 'it seems that despite his best efforts, our father only seems to bring us all together'," Alberta whisper translated to me as André stepped closer toward Rose.

It was only a small step but Rose flinched all the same. Protective instincts told me to take a step forward to protect Rose from any hurt but Alberta's gently yet firm arm help me back.

"They need this moment, don't you think?" she whispered to me in Russian.

Surprised by her sudden change in languages, I nodded. Listening intently. The apartment was so small yet there seemed to be a huge space between Rose and André and the spot Alberta and I were standing in.

What little conversation there was that we were waiting for was mostly one-sided on Andre's part and took place in Turkish.

"Come," Alberta gestured to another room of the apartment. "You can help me look for a few things."

I followed, reluctantly.

Rose shared a quick glance at me, assuring me she 'd be okay.

"This is all so unbelievable," Alberta sighed shifting boxes. She gestured for me to lift a few of the heavier boxes so she could reach.

"I don't think that's even enough of a word for it," she went on.

"I have a few words to describe it but I don't think they're proper," I admitted both light and heavy-hearted.

"I knew what those children were going through in the house. I could've done more to stop it."

"There's no one to blame but the one's who did the abusing," I assured her suddenly remembering my father and how I blamed myself for not preventing it before.

"I guess you're right, but still..."

"Rose doesn't blame you. And it doesn't seem like And re does either. Isn't that all that matters?"

These were the same words my grandmother used on me when I felt guilty for the abuse my other and sister's endured.

It seemed to have the same positive effect on Alberta because she smiled.

"I consider Rose, and André, and Lissa before she died, my children. I wasn't as close to the twins but still, I was there when they needed me. I'm glad to see Rose hasn't been entirely left alone."

"I only wish I could've met her sooner," I admit.

"you've done more to fill the hole in heart and lonely soul in the short amount of time you've known her than I have in the lifetime I've known her," she said dismissing my words.

"Have you ever loved any one the way you love Rose now? Not including your family."

I thought about it, only needing a moment before responding certainly. "No, never."

"That feeling I saw filling your eyes as you thought about it, hold on to that because I believe it is only love that'll save us and your grandmother agreed."

I smile at the mention of Yeva and her predictions. The thought makes me realize that all of this isn't just for Rose but it's to keep everyone I love, every family in danger of being ruined because of Abe and Adrian, safe.

Alberta pulled out a few pieces of paper and gestured for me to follow back into the main room.

André sat across from Rose in a business like manner. Rose stared down at her cup wrapped in her hands as he spoke, still in Turkish.

When it seemed clear that Rose wasn't going to ever respond, André turned his attention to Alberta and I as we reentered and smiled one-sided.

"It seems I share the same ability as my father in that I can push people away, repel them without even trying," he spoke to us but looked back toward Rose.

She glanced up quickly before turning her heavy gaze onto me. She gestured to me to sit beside her again.

"Are you two like an item?" André asked pulling out a cigarette. "Because I've been watching you two since the family moved to Russia and I have to say, it's been hard to tell."

Rose grabbed my hand on the tabletop purposefully.

"Question answered," he said around the cigarette.

"You've kept tabs on us that far back?" I asked curious.

"Don't get all full of yourself. I only kept tabs on you because that's where Rose was. You were just in the way. Unlucky bastard," he muttered the last part.

I raised my brow at him questioningly.

"Hey, you tangled yourself in this family of all families thereby classifying yourself as an unlucky-"

"I get it," I said cutting him off.

Alberta sat beside André between him and Rose, giving him a disapproving look for his comments.

"What I don't understand is how closely it seems you've tracked us without anyone noticing."

"When you're trying to stay low-key and hidden , you go out of your way to stay hidden," he says in an 'it should be obvious' tone of voice.

"Baia is a small town."

"I was careful," he shrugs." Which reminds me, Alberta, that nephew of yours is mighty good at his job, trailing me as I trailed my father. He's actually the one who led me here."

"Really?"

"Yes. I'd had about enough of his sleuthing so I finally approached him upstate when you two returned to Montana, we compared notes, swapped stories, had a beer and here I am. He said he'd be over later."

Alberta's face grew brighter with excitement.

"Why now?"

It was the first time Rose had spoken. It was as very brief pause before he responded.

"Because he said he wanted to help and to see his aunt-"

"I meant why are you here, in front of us , now?"

He lit his cigarette and exhaled.

"Because, like I said, I've been watching you guys and I've seen everything Abe has done and it's time to stop him says the son who almost died at the hands of said father."

"Yeah, well, while you were almost dying and playing spy, I was actually with Abe and Janine, taking every hit they had for me," Rose said solemnly. "I think if any one deserves revenge on the almighty Abe, it's his punching bag for the last few years ."

"And what about me, Rosemarie? What should I do while you try and fail to take him down?"

"Leave, disappear the way you've been abscent most of my life."

"You seem to think you're the only one who's suffered, who is suffering now but you're not. I tried to help you and look what happened. Abe didn't just play a part in your awful life. He was the bad guy in all of our lives."

"You didn't try to help me! You were trying to help Lissa," Rose shrieked standing. "You use to tell me, tell everyone, that I wasn't really your sister, that you only had one sister, Lissa. You know what, you're right. You only had one sister, all of this time. "I know that I'm not alone in this. In fact, Abe has hurt enough people so that I don't need you here. There're enough other ruined lives to help me. I not need or want you here. It was so easier for you to believe back then, it should be a piece of cake for you to believe now."

I reached for her hand but she pulled away slightly, upset.

André appeared unphazed by her words. I imagined one of my sisters, Victoria in particular, saying such things to me and I shuddered at the thought. Only a brother so cold and emotionless as his father could ignore such words.

"Look, I know tensions are bound to be high between you two but now we have something more important to deal with, the reason, or reasons, there is so much animosity. Not just Abe and Adrian but Janine too. They pitted you two, Lissa and André, against you, Rose. They did all of this and they are going to win if we don't stick together. Understood?"

All of us, surprised by Alberta's stern out burst stared astonished and then nodded.

"Alright. Good. Now what's the plan?"


	30. Like Nothing Ever Felt

"I hate him."

Rose was pacing in front of the bed.

It was decided, after the arrival of Alberta's nephew, a man a few years older than myself who shared the light tint of his aunt's hair and an almost obsessive passion for justice on a case he's been working on since he first became a cop, that the first thing to do would be to track the three, the Triad as Eddie referred to them, exactly.

_"You gave them a name?" Rose asked lifting a brow._ _"A cool name like The Triad?" She added dryly._

_Eddie smiled almost regrettably._

_"It was my partner Meredith's idea. She was tired of saying all of their names and thought it seemed fitting," he explained._

_"Why isn't she here now if she's aware of the case too?" Alberta asked._

_Eddie stared down at the table lowering his eyes._

_"She was killed almost four months ago."_

_"When Abe told us we were moving to Russia," Rose muttered to herself._

_She shared a look with both André and Eddie._

_"Yeah, we had word that he was going to make a move. I guess Meredith wanted to see for herself, got too close , they caught her, and killed her."_

_"You didn't tell me that," Alberta said sympathetically. She wrapped her arm around her nephew's shoulder. The rest of us looked on , eager to listen but unsure if any sympathies should be said._

_"What happened?" André asked._

_Eddie sighed laying his head back , staring up at the ceiling._

_"She got too close. I think she was even more invested in this case than I was if that's possible. She went off on her own to check out the Mazur...your house," he alleged glancing at Rose. "Apparently your parents were home at the time, or at least your father was and that Adrian guy because next thing I know, I get a call that an officer's body was just dumped in front of the police station. Bold aren't they."_

_There was a long silence before Rose spoke beside me._

_"How do you know it was them...that killed her I mean?"_

_"Tracing her calls and her location from where she made them. She tried to call me but it was too late...I was too late."_

_I could see a familiar look in his eyes and sound to his voice that I'd experienced myself: he loved her...or at least cared for her and now he had to live with the guilt and loneliness of not having her with him, whether it was his fault or not._

_Unconsciously i'd grabbed Rose's hand under the table and received a squeeze in return._

_"Not to mention Adrian left his calling card.," he added._

_"Which is?"_

_"A punch to the face. He wears a ring with his name-"_

_"Engraved on it," Rose finished for him._

_She clutched my hand even tighter and I kissed the back of her hand earning me a small smile. That sinking feeling in my stomach formed at the thought of Adrian's ring and Rose's face._

_"Yeah," Eddie sighed. "We'd become familiar with his mark with all the bodies he's left behind. Your father as well. He has the same signature."_

_"I believe it," Rose and André said in unison, dryly._

_"I didn't realize how far back Abe and Adrian went back," Rose muttered not looking up from the table._

_"Neither did I. I couldn't find a connection about what brought the two together but I realized it was actually through you..." Eddie told us, his voice trailing off as he glanced at André._

_"Yes, I realized the connection too," André said almost regrettably ._

_"Care to enlighten us?" Rose asked after a long silence._

_"Do you know what 'business' dear old dad was in exactly?" He asked Rose staring down at his cup._

_"Nothing legal," Eddie answered for her under his breath._

_"All Abe ever told me was that he was in 'human resources' and that was it.. I didn't really care enough to ask beyond that. I was too concerned with the position of his fist against my face."_

_André, ignoring her last comment, said," He didn't lie. He had a business that had to do with 'human resources'. He made his millions by loaning, borrowing, and stealing money to support politicians that would help him with his drug trade."_

_Rose ran her hand through her hair tiredly but listened intently with the rest of us._

_"Eventually, things started getting heated here, too many bodies that arose suspicion with the police. I'm guessing he started getting nervous. He had a good place in the community since he was so good at pretending to have an investment business. He didn't want to risk his status so he started taking out anyone who'd talk. He also thought it best to shift into a new career which is where Adrian comes in. He told us that his business folded but we knew the truth except for you of course, that is," he said staring pointedly, smugly at Rose._

_She glared at him._

_He went on. "Lissa and I thought we'd help him. We knew where our money was coming from but we didn't care. We wanted more of it and if that meant politics then so be it, we'd hell him. We went to school, met a top of the class student from out of the country, Ivashkov, who had gotten word of who our after was and proposed a proposition where they could help each other. We didn't like this because it meant bringing in an outside guy and sharing money as part of success. That's when Lissa started pulling away, I stayed loyal, but she didn't. That's why I think she tried protecting you that night. She'd had enough. And despite my loyalty to Abe, I loved Lissa more...and here we are . I ended up in a coma, Abe went on with his life like nothing happened. We have quite the family story don't we," André chuckled dryly._

_"This sounds like something out of a horror movie," Eddie huffed._

_"It gets better," André went on. "Your partner, Meredith. She did get too close. I remember it. It was a couple of nights before we told the rest of the family about the move. I wasn't there for the murder but I was there afterward when Adrian came back after dumping the body himself in front of the police station. My mother was still on the fence about moving but once she realized how much attention this would bring, she agreed with Abe and Adrian that it was best to move. Honestly, it's like there re three people in that marriage except two," he finished._

_We stared disbelieving._

_This wasn't just a horror movie. This was a nightmare._

The morning was so intense we decided that it would be best if we met again later in the day. We discussed that it'd be best if we didn't venture out but stayed in and hidden.

The next best thing we could do was rest.

Alberta didn't think any of us, André, Eddie, Rose, or myself had enough sleep after so much work and traveling so she sent us to our prospective hideouts and we agreed to meet at what had become our safe meeting point at Alberta's.

André and Eddie both were suspicious of being followed and there were apparently dirty cops at the police station so that left the meeting spot that Eddie deemed 'safe enough'.

Rose had been quiet the entire ride home.

I figured she needed some time to process everything so I gave her some space by pulling out a book that I wasn't really reading while she moved about the house, puttering about, moving objects and pacing.

The sun started to set when she finally came around.

"I really hate him," she amended.

Figuring she didn't want an argument against her at the moment, I let her rant on.

"He wants a pity party for what Abe did to him. I'm the one that's suffered. I mean, yeah sure, he was in a coma but ...ugh!" She huffed.

I set my book aside, tucking my unruly hair behind my ears before finally speaking. I discerned that she actually wanted a response when she glanced at me as she paced.

"You ever think that most of his revenge has to do with Lissa?"

Rose relaxed a little, her pace slowing.

"He has a right to be upset about Lissa," she mumbled so low that I barely heard her. She paced a few more steps before collapsing on one of the few chairs in the room with a huff.

"You just wish his revenge had just as much to do with you as it does Lissa," I guessed.

Rose just sat with her eyes downcast telling me I had guessed correctly.

I reached a hand out, taking her smaller one in my own. It still amazed me how much my hand engulfed her own, how often I forgot how small and fragile she was. She allowed me to pull her onto my lap , her eyes still downcast.

"I'm a terrible person for being jealous of my dead sister," she laughed without any humor.

"No, you're not Roza," I assured. "You're just human."

There was a long silence while she turned my words of zen over in her head.

"Oddly enough this reminds me of Paul and Zoya. After Karolina brought home Zoya for the first time, Paul spent days pouting over all the attention Zoya was getting that use to be his. When Zoya came down with a small cold, Paul felt more than guilty for being jealous of his sister. Over time he grew accustomed to her being there.," I finished, looking at Rose with the hopes that my story sank in.

I just hoped that with a bit of time, the same would happen between Rose and André and they'd grow use to one another.

"I'm a terrible person Dimitri," she said a moment later as if I hadn't spoken at all or my words went right over her head, in one ear and out the other.

"Roza-"

"No! Dimitri, I actually use to wish that Abe would treat them as badly as he treated me. I started having the same thoughts earlier today. What if this is all happening to me because I'm such a bad person?"

She was standing now, returning to the pacing pattern she'd been following before.

I suddenly had the urge to sigh, to shout, or hit something; maybe a combination of the three. It was frustrating not knowing how to handle internal conflicts of others. It wasn't like there's a book on _How to Help Your Girlfriend Cope with Parents Who Want to Killer Her and a Brother Who Possibly Doesn't Love Her for Dummies._

So I settled for simple reasoning.

I stood up, less than a few inches from where she stood with her arms folded over her chest. She had that fierce, stubborn look that I loved about her. Her hair was a tangled mess, her eyes were big and shiny, her lips set in a stubborn line.

She looked more than amazing to me and I couldn't understand while until it hit me: I loved her.

Simple reason.

"Do you love me?"

Her brows, dark and suddenly furrowed, lowered.

"Of course," she breathed with only a moment of surprise as her hesitation.

"So you trust me?"

"With my life."

"Then trust when I say that the only bad bone in your body is your self-doubt."

There was no better argument than loving trust.

She seemed to realize this. Her arms, unfolded, found their way around my neck while I found my own arms holding this small fragile girl tightly against my chest.

Her shampoo and the scent of the sun's rays against her hair filled my nose as I pressed a kiss to her forehead while pushing her hair back away from her face.

She craned her neck back to look up at me.

The rest of her hair fell away from her face so much so that I could see the smile on her face.

"You were some kind of zen master slash psychiatrist in a past life weren't you?"

"I'd like to think so but I'm actually just making this all up as I go along. Having Yeva as a philosophical grandmother doesn't hurt matters either."

We shared a laugh over that.

Rose continue staring up at me while I stared down at her. It was quiet and such a rare peaceful moment between us that I couldn't help but smile.

She leaned up on her toes and kissed me.

I didn't hesitate to return the gesture and kiss her back. Before either of us realized it, I ended up back in the chair Rose had sat on moments before. She fell with me, sitting herself across my lap straddling me.

It had been only a few hours since we'd really kissed like this and were at ease but it was a few moments too many.

My eagerness was starting to get the better of me. Rose let out a small moan after I'd nibbled on her lip. She pulled away, her forehead against my own as our labored breathing filled the room. I tilted my head up to kiss her forehead, unable to keep my lips or hands off of her for so long

"You want me," She whispered playfully.

"Mm...maybe,"I whispered against her cheek just as playful. I felt younger than I have in the last few weeks, my age.

"That bite to the lips tells me other wise. Your hormones are getting the better of you."

"Only when you're around."

I could feel the warm blood fill her cheeks as she blushed.

The room's light was fading as the sun started to set, outlining her silhouette.

Even without being able to see her I could sense she wore a thoughtful expression, thinking.

I kissed along the side of her neck back up to her lips while she thought, waiting for her to speak whatever it was that was on her mind.

"Dimitri..."

"Hmm..."

"You're the only person in the world to make me feel beautiful."

I waiting with my lips pressed to her forehead again, with a vague uncertain sense of where she was going with this.

"I want you to touch me."

I froze completely.

My heart pumped its last pump, my lungs took one last inhale, even the birds outside stopped chirping while the sun stopped setting.

We'd talked about this a lot lately but there was a different tone to her voice this time.

"I am touching you," is my genius reply.

Her lips widened a bit in the smallest of shy laughter.

"You touch me like I'm going to break or shatter okay million pieces. When you compliment me like you just did and kiss me, I feel like...nothing I've ever felt before, like an actual woman...until you pull away. I'm trying o put you on the spot like I have recently 'cause I don't want you to feel pressured and then there's anxiety and performance issues-" my lips quirked into a smile at that as she rushed on. "...I just want you to know it's okay to touch me."

There was another one of those long silences. Rose squirmed on my lap nervous and probably embarrassed and fearful of whatever my reaction might be.

She waited a few moments before I felt her hand on top of my own where they we resting comfortably at her waist. Her smaller fingers gripped my own as I felt my hands being moved up towards the general area of where her chest was.

She let go, allowing me to show if I wanted to go the rest of the way on my own.

When I looked at Rose, yes, I saw her as more than beautiful both inside and out. But she was also young , in comparison to me anyways and the enormity of the problems she was going through now. I did mt want to be another notch on her wall of problems. I wanted to be there and help her as I had been raised to do. I didn't want her to wake up and regret something she decided because her emotions decided to fluctuate at that decisive moment.

I didn't want any of those things but the problem is that Rose is hard to resist. I didn't want any of those things but I did want her.

While I hesitated, there was the unmistakable sound of a zipper, her sweater, that seemed to echo throughout the room. Before she could reach the bottom of her zipper, I stopped her, My hand yet again engulfing her own.

Her eyes caught the last of the day's light and glistened in surprise, fear, lust, and the smallest mount of hope.

"Let me," I whispered.

There were so many things I'd listed that I did and didn't want but I didn't have to just _want_Rose.

I had her.

* * *

**_A/N: Apologies and thanks! Apologies for not updating sooner but my last year of H.S. is now over and it's summer so frequent UDs! Thanks for the reviews and support and general love of the story._**


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